UK plans faster home sales with earlier binding agreements

Home buyers in England and Wales could soon be handed more information before they make an offer, while sellers would be locked into deals sooner, under a plan designed to curb gazumping and stop chains collapsing late in the process. The government says the changes, built around sales packs, earlier binding agreements and digital tools, would make homebuying faster, cheaper and easier.

For a first-time buyer, the promise is straightforward: less waiting, less brinkmanship and less chance of being outbid after weeks of negotiation. Ministers say the average home purchase now takes 120 days once an offer is accepted, around 60% longer than in 2007, and about one in three transactions fail. That churn costs buyers and sellers about £400 million a year in wasted costs, which is why the government says the reforms could cut the buying process by around four weeks and save first-time buyers an average of £650.

For a seller, the balance changes in a different way. Estate agents would have to put key information at the point of listing, including a home’s condition, leasehold costs and chain status, so buyers can assess the property before the deal gets serious. That should reduce the chance of a sale falling apart months later, but it also means more disclosure, more paperwork and less room to keep shopping for a better offer while one buyer is still vulnerable. The reforms would move legal and financial pressure from the end of the process to the beginning.

The government published its roadmap on 19 June 2026 after consultations closed on 29 December 2025. The home buying and selling reform consultation drew 1,133 responses, while the separate consultation on material information in property listings received 188. Officials say the package is meant to halve the number of sales that fall through, a move aimed squarely at the practice of gazumping and at the risk of parties walking away without a clear reason after months of negotiation.

The policy also has a longer history. A Conservative consultation in 2017 examined making gazumping illegal and introducing lock-in agreements, and official material from 2018 said reservation agreements could strengthen commitment and reduce the fear of gazumping. The latest response has drawn a mixed but constructive reception: the Law Society said more detail is needed before the government can proceed, while the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said the overall direction of travel is right. Parliament’s Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee has gone further, estimating that failed sales cost the economy about £1.5 billion a year. Scotland already runs a more binding system through solicitors and missives, and England and Wales are now moving closer to that model.