The MHCLG have unveiled a package of reforms designed to streamline the home buying and selling process, with industry leaders highlighting the potential to reduce fall-throughs, speed up transactions and improve certainty across the property chain. Mortgage and property experts said the proposals mark a significant step towards a more digital and efficient market, while stressing that further work is needed to deliver a fully end-to-end process.
Beth Rudolf, Director of Delivery at The Conveyancing Association, on today’s Government announcement regarding new rules for the home buying and selling process:
“Home buying and selling reform is about removing the current delay and uncertainty and reducing risk. It is about giving conveyancers the information they need to manage risk better.
Liability remains where it has always been; what changes is the quality and timing of the information available. Conveyancers remain responsible for the advice they provide, just as they are today.
The difference is they will increasingly have access to better information, earlier in the transaction, enabling risks to be identified, understood and managed before they become problems.
For too long, our profession has been expected to navigate transactions with incomplete information, leading to avoidable delays, frustration and fall-throughs.
This reform gives us the opportunity to move from a reactive process to a proactive one. This is not a leap into the unknown. It is a practical evolution that supports consumers, reduces wasted effort and helps professionals deliver better outcomes with greater confidence.
When information is available earlier and shared more effectively, risk does not increase; it decreases. The result is a home moving process that is faster, more transparent and more trusted by everyone involved.”
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, says:
“Any measures which improve transparency and certainty in home buying, and reduce the risk of gazumping/gazundering and abortive costs while professionalising the sector are welcome – and the sooner the better.
Having been at the RICS during the last serious attempt at change some years ago, I know how difficult it will be to make a difference, not least bringing together all the various parties involved, many with little or no interest in a more efficient or timely process.
However, the opportunities are too great to miss. As long as this latest proposal is not more politicking but a practical attempt at meaningful change, I am confident this time the government needs business.”
Angela Hesketh, Head of Government and Public Affairs at PEXA, said:
“The Government’s response signals a clear shift towards reform, stronger industry collaboration and the digital infrastructure needed to get Britain’s property market moving, and bring about greater certainty in the process.
Improving upfront information and data interoperability is a welcome and necessary first step. But if we are to unlock the full economic and societal benefits of an enhanced home-buying experience, we need this to go much further. At present, a critical gap remains: the point of completion.
The final stages of a transaction – coordinating completion and transfer of title – remain complex, fragmented, prone to delay and increasingly sophisticated fraud. This exposes every stakeholder in the chain.
Buyers are vulnerable because they don’t legally own their property until the title is registered, conveyancers are left to handle requisitions and post-completion queries with already limited capacity, and lenders are left without secured collateral.
If we are serious about delivering a truly end-to-end digital property market, fixing this ‘last mile’ must be the next priority.”
Maria Harris, Chair of the Open Property Data Association (OPDA), said:
“Today’s announcement represents a significant step towards fixing a homebuying process that has been crying out for reform for decades. Customers have made it clear that the current process isn’t fit for purpose and doesn’t meet their expectations.
We welcome the government’s commitment to creating a modern, digital-first property market that puts homebuyers and sellers at the heart of the process.
Providing key information upfront through digital sales packs, introducing earlier binding agreements and embracing technologies such as digital identity checks and AI-assisted conveyancing are exactly the kinds of changes needed to deliver faster transactions, greater transparency and fewer fall-throughs.
Smart data has the power to transform how we buy and sell property, creating safer and more secure processes, reducing duplication and raising standards across the sector. The government’s recognition of our work to prove that not only is this achievable, it also fundamentally transforms the process, is a testament to our ongoing collaboration.
OPDA’s latest Future of Homebuying report found that 86% of home movers support the introduction of a digital property pack, demonstrating the clear appetite among consumers for a better way of moving home.
People want certainty, transparency and access to the information they need from the outset, and with 87% of consumers happy to share their data for a better process, these reforms will help deliver that.
The time for change is now. OPDA has been laying the foundations for the future of the property market through the development of free and open smart property data standards and by bringing together lenders, conveyancers, estate agents, technology firms, regulators and government.
We are pleased to see many of the principles we have long championed reflected in these proposals.
International examples have already shown what can be achieved through digitisation and data sharing.
By working collaboratively across the industry, we have an opportunity to build a modern, fit-for-purpose property system that works better for everyone, improves the emotional and financial well-being of consumers and supports a more sustainable and efficient housing market.”
Nick Hale, CEO of Movera, commented:
“These reforms represent a significant step forward in modernising the home-buying process and improving outcomes for both consumers and the industry.
Encouraging earlier commitment to transactions along with wider adoption of digital identity checks, electronic signatures and the responsible use of AI, has the potential to reduce friction, improve certainty, and help transactions progress more smoothly.
We’re pleased to see that these steps complement the work we have been doing within Movera and its brands to implement digital tools from the outset and improve transaction outcomes.
We have invested in NPTN, working alongside partners such as Connells Group, because we believe a connected, end-to-end digital process can help deliver these benefits at scale.
This government-level support for broader adoption will be important in driving consistency across the sector and giving firms of all sizes the confidence to embrace trusted digital solutions that ultimately lead to a more efficient and secure property transaction process.”
Travis Scholes, Commercial Director at LMS commented:
“We welcome the Government’s drive to modernise the home buying and selling process, something LMS and our partners have been working towards for many years.
The benefits of upfront, standardised property information are already clear, with real-world use cases showing how earlier access to trusted data can speed up transactions, reduce fall‑throughs and improve outcomes for buyers and sellers alike.
“At scale, this progress relies on shared infrastructure and common data standards.
Through initiatives such as the National Property Transaction Network (NPTN) by LMS, we are already demonstrating how secure data sharing can enable earlier collaboration, reduce duplication and improve transparency – creating stronger foundations for transactions from the outset and tackling long‑standing friction in the process.
Crucially, these reforms build a strong narrative around how this contributes to improving the overall home-buying journey and delivers benefits across the end-to-end process.
Open, collaborative solutions like NPTN will be key to delivering shorter transaction times and better experiences for estate agents, law firms, lenders, buyers and sellers alike, ensuring the full value of a modernised property market is realised.”
Rob Houghton, founder and CEO of reallymoving, the comparison site for home movers, said:
“Reform of the homebuying and selling process is long overdue and this sounds like a sensible set of changes that will reduce fall throughs and improve transparency for homebuyers. However, there are some key factors that need careful consideration.
Firstly, only an estimated 20% of homebuyers currently get a detailed survey on the property they’re buying, many just relying on a lender valuation.
These changes will require all sellers to provide a survey in their sales pack – plus there will be some doubling up, as some homebuyers won’t trust what it says or will require a more detailed survey, so they will commission their own on top. That’s a massive increase in surveying capacity, which will take vast time and resources for the industry to meet.
“Secondly, there’s a real danger that these changes could hand too much power to estate agents, allowing them to dominate distribution of upfront services such as conveyancing and surveys. Without safeguards, this will lead to inflated prices, preferred provider arrangements and opaque referral fees or kickbacks.
The proposed Code of Practice for estate agents needs to address this explicitly and ensure there is complete upfront transparency, with homebuyers given information on all the options available to them when it comes to finding and appointing a surveyor or conveyancer.”
David Jones, director at Click2Check, commented:
“Backing for digital identity checks from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is a big step forward and should encourage those firms holding back from digital adoption that now is the time to leave traditional manual methods behind.
Leaning into digital IDV, along with other digital solutions like AML and open banking reporting, is the only way to guarantee your firm is consistently meeting regulatory requirements and that any and all evidence collected will stand up to lender scrutiny.
Manual checks are no longer thorough enough to combat today’s fraud risks, and completing a check alone is no longer sufficient – it’s as good as not doing one at all.
Firms today must have a clear time-stamped and auditable compliance trail that proves they know their client and their financial circumstances inside and out. Using digital solutions is the only surefire way to do that and the fucus now should be on ensuring the industry can adopt these solutions consistently.”
Stuart Haire, Chief Executive of Skipton Group, said:
“This is a welcome step for buyers and sellers, and an important move towards a more modern and reliable housing market.
As a Group that helps people both buy and finance their homes, we see every day how delays, rising costs and failed transactions affect people trying to move forward with their lives.
Better upfront information, earlier certainty and smarter use of data should help cut delays, reduce wasted costs, and give buyers and sellers a smoother route to completion.
For first-time buyers in particular, cutting weeks off the process and saving money will make a real difference to getting onto the housing ladder.”
Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s Group Director of Mortgages, said:
“Buying a home can often be a slow, complex and stressful process, so we welcome the government’s proposals. They are a major milestone in the efforts to simplify and streamline the homebuying process.
Speeding up homebuying isn’t just about convenience – it’s about helping more people complete their purchases with less frustration and fewer surprises along the way. Giving buyers key information upfront, at the point a property is listed, has the potential to transform the process – reducing unnecessary delays and giving people greater confidence to move quickly.
We look forward to working with government and the wider industry to implement these proposals and deliver a simpler, faster and more transparent homebuying experience for everyone.”
