OUR WORK
One Simple Aim
To create a practical plan to make home moving faster, fairer, and lower-risk for everyone.
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View the Latest DataWhy Reform Matters
Buying or selling a home is a major life moment - but the process doesn’t always support people when they need it most.
Through collaboration and practical reform, we’re helping create a system that feels clearer, more supportive, and easier to navigate.
Our Priorities for Change
Our work centres on five connected areas. Together, they form a practical plan to improve the home-moving experience from offer to completion.
Upfront Information & Transparency
Ensuring key information is available earlier, so buyers and sellers can make informed decisions with fewer surprises.
Speed &
Efficiency
Reducing duplication and delays by improving process design, roles, and handoffs between organisations.
Consumer Education & Communication
Creating clearer, consistent explanations so clients know what to expect and how to keep things moving.
Digital Infrastructure & Data Integration
Aligning legal, technical, and data standards so verified property information can be exchanged securely.
Long-Term
Reform
Working with Government and industry to embed improvements and keep momentum going over time.
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The Government’s Reform Roadmap
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What's changing?
Moving home takes too long and fails too often. Once an offer is accepted, it takes around 120 days on average to complete, and around one in three sales fall through.
On 19 June 2026, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government published its Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap, its response to the 2025 consultation. It sets out a step-by-step plan to make moving home faster, clearer and more certain by the end of this Parliament.
Read the Roadmap on GOV.UKInformation first, commitment earlier
Today, important issues often come to light only after an offer has been accepted. The Roadmap plans to change that. Sellers will prepare a sales pack before a home is listed, including searches and a property condition report, so buyers can decide with the facts in front of them. Once sales packs are established, buyers and sellers will commit earlier through binding conditional contracts, which will still allow people to withdraw for valid reasons.
What happens when
The Roadmap is being delivered in three stages.
Now
2026
Guidance on Material Information in property listings, a Code of Practice for property agents, working with the industry on sales pack information that can be shared voluntarily now, and wider use of reservation agreements.
Next
2027–28
A consultation on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents, an advisory Charter for property professionals, wider use of digital ID, electronic signatures and digital logbooks, and a consultation on sales information for leasehold and freehold estates.
Later
By the end of this Parliament
Legislation, when parliamentary time allows, to require sales packs before listing and then binding conditional contracts, with secure data sharing and digital logbooks becoming standard.
Most measures are expected to apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but not Scotland.
Who is doing what
MHCLG
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government owns the Roadmap and leads on policy, legislation and delivery.
DPMSG
The Digital Property Market Steering Group, chaired by MHCLG, brings together government, regulators, delivery bodies and industry to deliver the Roadmap’s digital commitments, such as upfront property data, digital logbooks and secure data sharing.
HBSC and partners
A wider network of organisations supports delivery by helping the industry and the public prepare for the changes.
The Home Buying and Selling Council is one of them.
How HBSC is helping
You don’t need to wait to get involved
Many of the steps the Roadmap points towards can be taken now
Gathering information before marketing, instructing a conveyancing lawyer early, and getting checks done before an offer is made. HBSC’s guides and Toolkit help industry professionals and their clients do exactly that.
We are helping agents, conveyancing lawyers, surveyors, lenders and others understand what is changing and when, and prepare their businesses. Our free Home Moving Reform Toolkit brings together practical guides and resources to share with clients, and our webinars keep you up to date as milestones are reached.
Help buyers and sellers make informed decisions earlier in the process
When buyers and sellers receive clear, consistent information earlier, the whole process feels smoother and more predictable.
The BASPI template helps standardise this essential data.
Reservation Agreements
A simple agreement can make a big difference.
Reservation Agreements help ensure buyers and sellers stay committed, reducing the chance of fall-throughs and costly delays.
Simplify how property data and documents are shared
Verified property information shouldn’t be hard to access.
We support work that brings legal, technical, and data standards together so information can move quickly and securely.
Tracking performance
Progress needs measurement.
By tracking fall-through rates and transaction times, we help the industry understand where change is happening and where more focus is needed.
Working Together to Deliver Change.
Meaningful change happens when people come together.
Across the country, professionals are sharing insights, testing ideas, and supporting a better home-moving experience.
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Access the Toolkit