"Gazumping really is the scourge of the property market and a practice that is facilitated through a draconian, archaic conveyancing system"
The government says it will collaborate with estate agents, solicitors and mortgage lenders to look at ways of tackling gazumping and reducing time wasting to increase commitment to a sale.
Discussing the quarter of sales that fall through each year, the call for evidence said that "mistrust between parties is one of the biggest issues faced" and therefore will look at schemes including ‘lock-in agreements’.
The government also hopes to introduce better guidance for buyers and sellers and more digital solutions to speed up the buying process.
Javid stressed that the exercise "isn’t about adding extra work for buyers and sellers or seeing a return to Home Information Packs", but about improving the home buying experience.
He said: "We want to help everyone have a good quality home they can afford, and improving the process of buying and selling is part of delivering that. Buying a home is one of life’s largest investments, so if it goes wrong it can be costly. That’s why we’re determined to take action to make the process cheaper, faster and less stressful.
"This can help save people money and time so they can focus on what matters – finding their dream home. I want to hear from the industry on what more we can do to tackle this issue."
Founder and CEO of eMoov, Russell Quirk, commented: “Gazumping really is the scourge of the property market and a practice that is facilitated through a draconian, archaic conveyancing system, the likes of which is shared only with Papa New Guinea, which leaves large numbers of buyers extremely disappointed and out of pocket. During the most stressful part of the property purchase, it further exacerbates the emotional turmoil a buyer can find themselves in and can crush their hopes and dreams of securing that perfect property.
"The law needs to change to ensure there is a contractual obligation and to protect home buyers much earlier on in the process. One common misconception is that gazumping is the work of the agent in order to secure more commission on a property. However, this practice is often orchestrated by the seller and without the support or encouragement of the agent, although they take the blame."
Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and former RICS residential chairman, added: "There is a need to add more speed and certainty to the house buying process by reducing delays in receiving responses to Land Registry and leasehold enquiries. Many solicitors also fail to deal with queries in a timely manner and often leave action until just before the scheduled exchange, which can unnecessarily delay or even compromise transactions.
"We find gazumping and gazundering, especially in current market conditions, rarely happen and are usually the result of the buyer or seller failing to keep to previously-agreed timescales.
"Should we really force buyers to buy and/or sellers to sell when prices have dropped or risen substantially, they have failed to meet their obligations or their circumstances alter? Some just simply change their minds.
"We welcome the consultation but flexibility and the relatively easy ability to replace broken links in a house buying chain are distinct advantages of the present system."
