Committee publication · Correspondence · 29 April 2026
Letter from the Chair to the Minister of State for Housing and Planning dated 27 April 2026 concerning the home buying and selling process
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Inquiry: Affordability of Home Ownership
Summary
Letter from the HCLG Committee Chair sharing preliminary findings from an ongoing inquiry into home ownership affordability, focused on the buying and selling process. The committee identifies systemic delays (120–160 days vs. 75–85 days in 2007), high costs from failed transactions (£1.5 billion annually), and recommends upfront property information, binding conditional contracts, and mandatory regulation of estate agents.
Key findings
- One in three property transactions fail, costing the economy and consumers £1.5 billion annually (Santander estimate), with average consumer loss of £1,240 per failed transaction; 63% of failed-transaction buyers report unexpected bills exceeding £1,000.
- Average transaction duration has doubled since 2007: buyers now take 120 days (from 75), sellers 160 days (from 85); excessive delays and survey problems account for 35.6% of failed transactions.
- Gazumping is the most common cause of transaction failure, affecting 25.5% of failed deals; 37% of homebuyers report being gazumped at least once.
- Estate agents in the UK are lightly regulated; only 37% of people trust the profession. The Estate Agents Act 1979 has not been substantively reviewed for over 40 years.
- Complex process deters movement: 28% of consumers became less likely to move after a failed transaction; 24% of homebuyers considered abandoning or delaying purchase due to process complexity.
Recommendations
- Mandate upfront provision of standardised property information (surveys by RICS-registered surveyors, title data, searches, council tax band, EPC rating, building safety data) when property first goes to market, learning from Scotland's Home Reports model.
- Introduce binding conditional contracts such that both parties are legally bound once specified conditions are met, with financial penalties for withdrawal; investigate ways to reduce time gaps between offer and completion.
- Establish a Code of Practice and mandatory qualifications for all types of property agents (estate, letting, managing) overseen by an independent regulator with enforcement powers (fines/penalties).
- Review and update the Estate Agents Act 1979 to assess whether it remains fit for purpose.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Matthew Pennycook MP, Florence Eshalomi MP, MHCLG (Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government), Santander, Timothy Douglas (Propertymark), Henry Jordan (Nationwide), Beth Rudolf (Home Buying and Selling Council), PEXA UK
Notable line
“When transactions collapse, buyers often bear the majority of the financial cost, with 63% of buyers reporting unexpected bills exceeding £1,000.”
Key Quotes
“When transactions collapse, buyers often bear the majority of the financial cost, with 63% of buyers reporting unexpected bills exceeding £1,000. These barriers disproportionately affect lower-income buyers.”
“We know that upfront information is essential for home buyers and sellers to make informed decisions. We have asked members recently and 73% said that providing that information upfront results in an increase in speed; 63% said that producing information upfront results in a reduction in the number of failed sales.”
“A borrower may have to provide their ID up to nine times during that [home buying and selling] journey. If we can have it identified once by a reputable source, and that source is acceptable to all parties of the chain, then that would be a significant small improvement”
“The complexity of the process is also a barrier to people putting their home on the market. This reduces the circulation of properties which is the sign of a well-functioning market.”
“Binding offers, which I know have been looked at, would be a positive step.”
“… the current system rewards agents who do not follow the law regarding providing material information over those agents that do, but that the threat of fines or other enforcement from a regulator would encourage them to improve.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗