Meaningful reform must benefit agents as well as consumers
The roadmap includes several measures Propertymark has consistently called for, including better upfront information, stronger professional standards, digitalisation, improved data sharing, and greater commitment from buyers and sellers. However, success will depend on implementation.
Professional agents are pivotal to compliant and efficient property transactions. They must not be left carrying responsibility for information that sits with sellers, conveyancers, surveyors, lenders, freeholders, managing agents, estate managers, or local authorities. Reform must define clear roles, avoid duplication, protect consumers, and support smaller firms as well as larger businesses.
Propertymark has played a key role in the development of these plans, attending Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government roundtables hosted by Baroness Taylor, sitting on the Home Buying and Selling Council and the Digital Property Market Steering Group, and responding to consultations with member feedback. Further meetings are planned with Ministers and officials. It's vital that we have a phased implementation and ensure the sector the has capability and capacity to support the changes.
Implementation timetable
The roadmap is split into three stages.
- In 2026, guidance on information in property listings and a Code of Practice for property agents will be published. The UK Government will explore training and skills development, build readiness for binding contracts, improve access to local authority property data, and publish a call for evidence on a smart data scheme for the property sector.
- In 2027 and 2028, an advisory Charter will set out expectations and behaviours for property professionals and consultation will take place on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents and leasehold and freehold estates sales information legislation. The UK Government will support uptake of digital identity, Qualified Electronic Signatures, and digital logbooks and packs, consult on penalty fee structures for binding contracts, create a voluntary accreditation scheme for data standards, and consult on a smart data scheme.
- By the end of this Parliament (2029), the UK Government intends to introduce legislation to require sales packs before listing, including searches and a property condition report; require binding conditional contracts once sales packs are embedded; and support secure data sharing so digital sales packs and logbooks become a standard feature of property transactions.
Upfront information and sales packs
One of the most significant changes is the move towards mandatory sales packs before a property is listed.
Sellers and estate agents will have to provide key information upfront, including details about a home’s condition and leasehold costs. The aim is to stop critical information emerging only after an offer has been accepted, when buyers and sellers have already spent time and money. Ahead of legislation, the UK Government will work with industry to identify information that can be provided voluntarily now.
Propertymark supports the principle of better upfront information, but we have been clear that the way information is presented matters. We have called for a single, trusted set of material information used consistently across the process. There must also be a clear distinction between information that buyers need to make an informed decision and more technical information needed by conveyancers, lenders, surveyors and other professionals.
Agents and sellers should not be expected to identify or verify complex legal or technical issues without input from qualified professionals. Earlier involvement from conveyancers, surveyors and other specialists will be essential.
Material information must be concise to be useful
This will be a key compliance area for agents. Material information requirements are now shaped by the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, following the withdrawal of previous National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team guidance.
Propertymark supports clearer and more consistent material information, but reforms must reflect how transactions work in practice. Some information can be provided by agents and sellers. Other information requires legal, technical or professional assessment.
We have recommended that the UK Government works closely with regulators and professional bodies to agree one definitive list of material information, with clear guidance on which party is responsible for each category. Sellers should also share legal responsibility for providing material information, so compliant agents are not disadvantaged by doing the right thing in a competitive market.
Listings should give buyers a concise, clear summary of the key facts. More detailed technical information should be available through the wider sales pack or on request. This would help buyers make better decisions without turning listings into dense legal documents.
Property listings and price transparency
Agents should also be aware of the interaction between home buying reform and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) price transparency guidance under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act.
Propertymark has warned that property listings should not be treated in the same way as a simple retail “invitation to purchase”. Agents do not control the final price. Sellers retain ultimate authority, and prices can change after surveys, mortgage valuations, legal checks, or negotiations. Many additional costs, such as stamp duty, legal fees, and survey costs, also sit outside an agent’s remit.
Listings are brought within invitation to purchase rules, guidance must recognise that property prices can change, allow appropriate disclaimers, and distinguish between the advertised property price and wider buyer costs that may only become clear later.
A new Code of Practice and mandatory qualifications
The roadmap includes a clear focus on professionalising property agents, with a non-statutory Code of Practice due to be published later this year, setting out minimum best practice standards. The UK Government will also consult in 2027 on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents.
We have consistently called for the recommendations of the Regulation of Property Agents working group to be implemented. All residential property agents should be licensed, follow a Code of Practice, and meet minimum qualification requirements. Propertymark members are already well placed because they work to professional standards, access training and guidance, and commit to ongoing development.
Regulation of estate and letting agents around the UK
Learn more about where we are with the overall regulation of the industry and how it can vary in different countries.
Digital property logbooks and sales packs
Ministers want to see logbooks and sales packs become a standard part of property transactions: Used well, these tools should reduce duplication, make information easier to update, and allow professionals to work from the same trusted data.
Propertymark supports digital reform but has stressed that it must not create new silos. We have called for a shared digital platform or single access point where material information can be uploaded, updated and accessed securely by all relevant parties in real time.
Data security, privacy and digital exclusion must also be managed carefully. Reform should support agents and consumers, not make the process harder for people who need extra help.
Single AML checks, ID, and digital signatures
Proposed improvements to the shareability of anti-money laundering checks will reduce duplication and mean that buyers and sellers will no longer face repeated checks where trusted information can be shared securely between professionals. The UK Government will also support digital identity checks and electronic signatures to reduce fraud risk and speed up transactions.
Caution is needed on AML reform. Multiple checks by supervised professionals provide important safeguards, and reducing oversight could increase risk. The priority should be secure, reliable information sharing rather than removing checks altogether.
A more joined-up compliance process could reduce repetition and improve customer experience, but agents will still need confidence that any shared data meets regulatory requirements and that liability is clear.
Binding conditional contracts
Future legislation is expected to include penalty provisions for parties who cause transactions to collapse unnecessarily, while allowing withdrawal for legitimate reasons. Importantly, buyers and sellers will not be required to enter binding conditional contracts until upfront sales packs have been fully tested and embedded.
Greater commitment could help prevent buyers making ill-advised offers and stop sellers withdrawing simply because a higher offer appears after the buyer has incurred costs, as well as reducing wasted time on transactions that are unlikely to complete. However, they must be designed carefully. Legitimate withdrawal reasons, consumer protection, affordability issues, survey results, and legal defects must all be dealt with fairly.
Consumer education and a professional Charter
A light-touch, advisory Home Buying and Selling Charter, expected in 2027, will set out expectations and behaviours for property professionals and help consumers identify those adopting best practice. Agents will be encouraged to self-assess against it and signal where they comply with its principles.
Our engagement will focus on ensuring the Charter works alongside the Code of Practice, qualifications, and professional body membership, and does not create duplication or unnecessary administrative burdens.
What agents should do now
Firms should review how they currently collect and check property information before marketing. They should consider whether their processes clearly identify material information, whether sellers understand their responsibilities, and whether information is shared consistently with conveyancers and other professionals.
Agents should also assess their digital systems. The direction of travel is towards shareable, trusted property data, digital identity, electronic signatures, digital logbooks and sales packs. Businesses that can adapt early will be better placed when requirements become mandatory.
Training will also be important. The roadmap points towards higher expectations of knowledge and professionalism – agents should ensure teams understand material information, AML responsibilities, leasehold issues, referral arrangements, price transparency and the wider transaction process.
