Ministers say the current process is too slow and unreliable. We look at what is being proposed, why solicitors are pushing back, and how selling by auction already solves many of the same problems.
What the government is proposing
The government has set out plans to overhaul the way homes are bought and sold in England and Wales. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government ran a public consultation on the reforms, which closed at the end of 2025, and has since published a roadmap setting out what it wants to put into law before the end of this Parliament. You can read the official announcement on GOV.UK.
The headline measures are:
- Upfront information. Sellers would provide a detailed sales pack at the start, including searches, title and tenure details, the EPC, leasehold terms, building safety data, flood risk and a property condition report.
- Binding contracts earlier. Buyers and sellers would commit through a binding conditional contract sooner in the process, instead of waiting until exchange for anything to be settled.
- Digital property data. Property information and digital logbooks would be standardised so they can be shared quickly between the parties and their advisers.
- Higher standards for agents. A consultation on mandatory qualifications and a code of practice for estate, letting and managing agents.
The thinking behind it is set out in some stark figures. The government points to an average purchase taking around 120 days from offer accepted to completion, roughly one in three sales falling through, and failed transactions costing sellers an estimated £400 million a year and the wider economy up to £1.5 billion.
A system almost everyone agrees is too slow
The most striking thing about the reforms is that they put an official stamp on a problem sellers have complained about for years. The private treaty method, where a home is listed with an estate agent and sold by negotiation, can be slow, uncertain and stressful. An accepted offer is not a commitment, and either side can walk away or renegotiate right up to exchange.
The good news for sellers is that they already have an alternative, and many are taking it. A large share of the enquiries we receive are not from people selling the kind of property you might picture at auction. They are ordinary owners of perfectly saleable homes who are simply fed up with the private treaty process. They have often had a sale fall through, been gazundered, or watched a straightforward transaction drag on for months and they want a more reliable way to sell. If that sounds familiar, our guide on what to do when a house sale has fallen through may be useful.
How auction already tackles these problems
What stands out about the reforms is how closely they mirror the way an auction sale already works. The two big ideas, upfront information and a binding commitment, are not new. They are the foundations auction has been built on for decades.
- The information is ready before the sale. Every lot has an auction legal pack prepared in advance, with the title, searches and special conditions available for buyers and their solicitors to review before they bid. There is no waiting until a buyer is found to start gathering paperwork.
- The contract is binding straight away. With an unconditional auction sale, contracts are exchanged the moment the hammer falls. There is no gap in which a buyer can renegotiate or pull out, so the risk of the sale collapsing is greatly reduced.
- The timescale is fixed. Completion typically follows within 28 days of an unconditional sale, so everyone works to a clear, agreed deadline rather than an open-ended chain.
- The price is set by open competition. Interested buyers bid against each other on the day, which gives a clear, market-tested result rather than a figure that can be chipped away later.
It is worth being clear that there are two types of auction. With an unconditional sale, the buyer is legally committed when the hammer falls, which is the route we recommend. The conditional route, sometimes called the modern method of auction, gives the buyer a fixed period to complete and is not binding in the same way. Our guide explains the difference between unconditional and conditional auction in full.
The table below compares the private treaty method the reforms are trying to fix with a sale by auction.
| Feature | Private treaty (estate agent) | Sale by auction |
|---|---|---|
| When the sale becomes binding | On exchange, often months after the offer | At the fall of the hammer (unconditional) |
| Risk of falling through | Around one in three transactions | Removed once the hammer falls; the sale is legally binding |
| Upfront information | Often gathered after a buyer is found | Legal pack prepared and shared before the sale |
| Gazundering and renegotiation | Possible right up to exchange | Not allowed. The property is sold to the highest bidder |
| Completion timescale | Open-ended, around 120 days on average | Fixed, typically 28 days (unconditional) |
| The price | Negotiable and open to being chipped away | Set by competitive bidding on the day |
Not set in stone: the criticism so far
The reforms are proposals, not law, and they are some way off. They are also already drawing criticism, particularly from the solicitors and conveyancers who would have to make them work. The Law Society has published its position on the home buying and selling reforms, and the main concerns include:
- Binding contracts too soon. Research commissioned by the Law Society found that around seven in ten conveyancers do not want mandatory binding contracts under the current system. The worry is that buyers and sellers could be locked in before the proper checks have been completed.
- Who is liable if the pack is wrong. If upfront information turns out to be inaccurate, it is not clear who carries the risk. Conveyancers question whether estate agents have the expertise to compile legal and search information, and whether sellers always know, or are willing to disclose, the full picture about their property.
- Cost and who pays. Moving work to the start of the process creates extra legal work that, the profession argues, has to be properly recognised, costed and supported by reliable data and digital systems before any of it is made compulsory.
- Memories of Home Information Packs. Some in the industry draw comparisons with Home Information Packs, introduced in 2007 and scrapped in 2010, and are wary of repeating a costly scheme that did not deliver.
- It may not fix the real bottlenecks. Critics point out that many delays come from mortgage processing, local authority search times and long chains, none of which packs or binding contracts address on their own.
None of this means the reforms will not happen, but it is a reminder that change is likely to be gradual, and that the detail still has a long way to go.
What this means if you are thinking of selling now
The reforms are welcome in principle, and a faster, more certain process would be good for everyone. The catch is that legislation is years away, and the proposals could still change a great deal before they take effect.
The point worth making is a simple one. The upfront information and binding commitment the government is working towards are already available today through a well-run auction sale. Auction is not the right answer for every property or every seller, but for owners who value speed and certainty over a drawn-out negotiation, it is worth understanding. Our guide to selling your house at auction is a good place to start.
Next steps
Contact us to find out if your property is suitable for auction. Request a free pre-auction appraisal or feel free to call us on 0800 862 0206 - we'll be happy to help.
