The UK government is proposing sweeping reforms to the house‑selling process that would require sellers to disclose key information about their property from the outset. The aim: reduce delays, cut hidden costs for buyers, and dramatically lower the rate of home‑sale failures.
What’s changing?
Under the new proposals, when a home is put on the market:
- Sellers and estate agents would legally be required to provide detailed information upfront – including the property’s condition, any known defects, leasehold or service charge liabilities, flood risk, structural issues, and chain status.
- Search and survey data (or at least parts of them) may need to be published before the property is listed.
- The government is also exploring binding contracts earlier in the sales process, to prevent last‑minute withdrawal by either party (which currently causes many sales to collapse).
- The changes are intended to cut roughly four weeks from the average sale timeline (which often spans five months now) and save first‑time buyers an average of about £710.
- A broader consultation will be launched to gather feedback from industry, homeowners, buyers, and agent bodies.
Why now?
The government argues that the current system is too opaque, slow, and prone to failure. In many cases, buyers discover major problems only after an offer is accepted and a survey is done and by then, it’s often too late to renegotiate.
According to research, more than half a million property transactions collapse each year in England and Wales often due to hidden defects, delays in searches, or sudden seller withdrawal.
By shifting more responsibility and risk to the seller early on, the reforms hope to reduce late surprises and failures and restore confidence in the process.
Possible benefits & potential risks
Likely benefits:
- Greater transparency for buyers, reducing the chance of unpleasant surprises later
- Faster transactions less time lost to delays or renegotiations
- Fewer failed deals, meaning lower wasted legal/survey costs and less stress
- Lower costs for buyers on average, especially first‑time buyers (estimated – £710 saving)
Potential risks / challenges:
- Higher upfront cost for sellers: sellers would have to commission inspections, provide surveys, and share data earlier than now
- Risk of fewer homes coming to market: if the burden becomes too heavy, some sellers might delay listing
- Disputes over disclosure: sellers might understate or omit information, leading to legal challenges
- Duplication of effort: many reforms echo the earlier “Home Information Pack” scheme (introduced in 2007 and scrapped in 2010) — critics warn that this might recreate past problems around cost and complexity.
What this means for homeowners, sellers, and buyers
- Homeowners planning to sell may need to invest earlier in surveys, condition reports, or remediation work
- Estate agents and solicitors will face stricter disclosure rules and possibly new standards or codes of conduct
- Buyers will benefit from more certainty and fewer “investment surprises”
- Potential litigation risk if sellers are judged not to have disclosed fully
Bottom line
This proposed reform represents one of the biggest potential overhauls of the UK home‑buying system in recent years. If implemented, it would shift much more of the burden onto sellers — but with the promise of a cleaner, faster, and more reliable process for buyers.
To read more please see link (BBC): Buyers could save hundreds in new house buying shakeup BBC Feeds
