Details about how the homebuying and selling process will be reformed will be announced this year, the housing minister has confirmed.

The comments by the housing minister Matthew Pennycook (main picture) were made in response to a Commons question from the Liberal Democrat MP Pippa Heylings, about the “prevalence of gazundering in the residential property market”.

She asked the minister about bringing forward legislative and regulatory measures to protect buyers and sellers from last-minute price reductions prior to the exchange of contracts.

Pennycook responded, saying: “Subject to the outcomes of the analysis being undertaken, we will publish a roadmap setting out further details of our reforms later this year.”

We will publish a roadmap setting out further details of our reforms later this year.”

His comments follow the publication last October by the Government of two consultations.

Both consultations, which closed on 29 December 2025, proposed significant changes to the transaction process.

These include binding conditional contracts at an early stage and mandatory upfront property information at the point of listing.

Clear guidance

Victoria Latham, Deputy Director for Housing at MHCLG and chair of the Digital Property Market Steering Group, spoke about the reforms in November last year.

She said that she wanted clear guidance on upfront information and a published roadmap in place within the next year.

Latham, speaking at a Santander event highlighting its research into the homebuying chain, cautioned against trying to fix everything at once.

She said the priority was clarity of direction, with reform delivered in stages that gave the industry time to adapt.

The Santander resesarch found that a quarter of British adults who have attempted to buy a property have experienced a fall-through, and that these failed transactions cost the economy some £1.5billion a year.

The pain of moving also means that nearly a third of those who have moved home previously are put off trying it again, particularly as each failed attempt costs movers £1,240 on average.