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Fri, 19 Jun 2026

Fri, 19 Jun 2026 Plans to end gazumping with binding agreements in house sales shake-up

Sales agreements will be legally binding sooner and making sellers provide more home information up front are part of the planned changes.

* Home buyers and sellers can expect an end to "gazumping" in a major shake-up aimed at speeding up housing sales.
* Legally binding sales agreements will be introduced earlier in the process to stop buyers or sellers walking away without a legitimate reason.
* Buyers can currently be outbid at a late stage of the sale, causing frustration and expense for those involved.
* The planned reforms include: + Home buyers receiving more information about properties listed for sale + Sellers and estate agents sharing important information about the property through sales packs + Binding conditional contracts that make a transaction legally binding much earlier in the process
* Buyers will save around £650 on average, according to government estimates.
* The reforms aim to make the system "faster, fairer and more secure" and are expected to be introduced at the end of this Parliament in 2029.
* Some concerns have been raised about unintended consequences, such as properties taking longer to get onto the market.