The government's latest proposed regulatory changes to the property market are well-intentioned, but they are likely to cause disruption while they bed in.
The reforms are designed to tackle a long-running problem: buyers and sellers can currently withdraw from a deal at any point, for any reason, at no financial cost.
Ministers want to change that by requiring sellers to provide more information upfront, and by making offers legally binding at an earlier stage, reducing the number of sales that fall through due to gazumping and gazundering.
Under the current system, nothing prevents a seller from accepting a higher offer after already agreeing to a sale, nor stops a buyer from slashing their offer at the last minute.
The reforms could make offers legally binding at an earlier stage
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The collective cost is massive: collapsed sales are estimated to cost buyers £400 million a year, with broader damage to the economy running to £1.5 billion annually.
Scotland already operates a system in which legal commitment comes earlier in the process, and the result is far fewer failed transactions.
The proposed English reforms follow a similar logic: buyers and sellers who pull out without reasonable justification would face financial penalties, while sellers would be required to produce an upfront sales pack covering the property's condition, any leasehold costs, and their position in the chain.
In my experience, discovering serious problems only after agreeing to a sale is far from unusual, precisely because sellers are currently required to disclose so little. Greater transparency at the outset can only help.
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There is, however, a cautionary precedent. Home Information Packs were introduced in England and Wales in 2007 and abolished just three years later, after the costs involved began to suppress the market. Any new digitised system will need to avoid the same fate.
There is also the question of timing. These changes will not go before MPs before 2029, so they are not imminent.
When they do arrive, the biggest beneficiaries should be buyers and sellers who want greater certainty, faster transactions, and less risk of losing money on surveys, searches and legal fees that come to nothing.
The concern is not with the principle. It is with the pattern. Every significant change to the property system, however positive in the long run, unsettles momentum. In the short term, these reforms will disrupt the market before they improve it.
Four things you need to know right now
Thinking of buying or selling? Here's what the government's shake-up really means for you.
1. Nothing is changing yet
Don't hold off putting your home on the market, waiting for the new rules to kick in. They won't go before MPs before 2029. The system you're dealing with today is the system you'll be dealing with for years to come.
2. You can still be gazumped, and there's nothing you can do about it
Until the law changes, a seller can take a higher offer the day before you exchange. Get your survey done fast, instruct a solicitor early, and don't spend a penny more than you have to until contracts are signed.
Collapsed sales are estimated to cost buyers £400 million a year
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3. Demand more information upfront
Sellers aren't legally required to tell you much right now, but you are entitled to ask. Push your estate agent hard for details on leasehold costs, service charges, and any known issues with the property before you commit to anything.
4. The moment to move is now, not later
When big reforms loom, markets wobble. Buyers hesitate. Sellers dig in. If you're ready to go, the window before the uncertainty bites is open right now. Don't waste it.