Home buying and selling reform

From:: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Published: 6 October 2025
Last updated: 20 October 2025 — See all updates

Summary

This consultation seeks views on proposals to improve the home buying and selling process.

This consultation ran from
9am on 6 October 2025 to 11:59pm on 29 December 2025

Consultation description

We are consulting on proposals to address longstanding issues with our home buying and selling system. The current process is long, complicated and frustrating. It takes an average of 120 days to complete and around 1 in 3 transactions fail.

Subject to the outcome of this consultation, we will publish a roadmap setting out how government will transform home buying and selling over the course of this parliament.

We want to ensure future reforms are practical, enforceable and built to last, and to make sure that both consumers and professionals are confident that the system will change in a meaningful and sustainable way.

We welcome views from anyone who has an interest in home buying and selling, especially property professionals involved in home buying and selling and members of the public who have experienced the process as either a buyer or seller.

A Welsh (Cymraeg) version of this consultation is available.

Documents