Estate agents and property professionals are being encouraged to share their views on new government proposals aimed at transforming the home buying and selling process in England and Wales.
The Home Buying and Selling Reform and Material Information consultations opened at 9am this morning, with the government calling for input from across the sector. In particular, it is keen to hear from estate agents and others directly involved in property transactions.
As part of the proposed reforms, estate agents and sellers must publish information from searches and surveys before a property listing is published.
The idea is to allow buyers to see the physical condition, characteristics, and flood risk of the property online. The government hopes it will enable buyers to make informed decisions sooner and sellers will benefit from faster transactions, designed to result in fewer costly fall-throughs.
The full list of proposed mandatory upfront information includes: tenure, council tax band, EPC rating, property type, legal and transactional information such as title information and seller ID verification, leasehold terms, building safety data, standard searches, property condition assessments tailored to property age and type, service charges, planning consents, flood risk data, chain status, and clear floor plans.
Buyers and sellers will have the option to sign binding contracts that would end the practice of parties pulling out of agreements months into the process.
The transaction process will also see the deployment of digital tools – including digital property logbooks, digital ID verification, and standardised data sharing – enhancing transparency and security for buyers and sellers.
The government will also introduce mandatory qualifications and ‘Code of Practice’ for estate, letting and managing agents, driving high standards in the sector and increase trust in the industry.
The government will publish information on the services of estate agents and property lawyers, so consumers are well informed on how and where to get help.
The average time from instruction to completion is currently over five months, and the government estimates these reforms could speed up transactions by around four weeks.
The Home Buying and Selling Reform consultation launched can be found here.
The Material Information Consultation can also be found here. Material information in property listings. This further consultation will support estate agents with their legal responsibilities, including requirements under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act. This will aim to help provide explicit guidance for estate agents on what information they should include in property listings.
Property industry responds to government’s home buying reform plans
