"Topics such as a lack of transparency around conveyancing services, the payment of ‘referral fees’, and the weak regulation of estate agents will also be on our agenda in this inquiry."
- Clive Betts, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Committee has launched an inquiry on improving the home buying and selling process in England.
The cross-party inquiry will examine the transaction process, the information available to buyers, and the role of conveyancers and estate agents.
Evidence sessions for the inquiry are likely to begin in late April 2024 and the Committee will question consumer, professional and industry bodies.
The key questions for the Committee inquiry include:
- How efficient or effective is the existing process for buying and selling homes? How could this be improved?
- How could the consumer experience be improved during the process for buying and selling homes?
- Is the reliance on voluntary initiatives adequate to improve the buying and selling process, or should improvements be made mandatory through legislation?
Considering the transaction process, the inquiry will look at the impact of issues in the transaction process, such as gazumping or gazundering, and whether greater use of reservation agreements would improve the transaction process. The Committee also asked why a short, standardised reservation agreement has not been developed, "as promised by the then Government in 2018".
The inquiry will consider whether buyers have the right information available at the right time during transactions, how the digitisation process can be accelerated, and what challenges there are to digitisation or providing information at listing. The Committee will also look into whether sellers should be required to provided set information about a property when it is marketed.
Covering conveyancing, the Committee will look at whether buyers have sufficient information to determine which conveyancer to use, the impact the practice of referral fees has and how a potential ban could affect transactions, and the effect of a mandatory professional qualification for estate agents.
Clive Betts, chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, said: “The process of buying and selling a home in England is often stressful for those involved. Indeed, despite there being around two million households who successfully buy or sell their home each year, consumers often find the process is not as efficient, effective, or as consumer-friendly as it could be.
“As part of this inquiry, we will look at the chief obstacles to improving the process of buying and selling a home. We will be keen to examine issues such as the time taken to complete a transaction and challenges in finding the right information. Topics such as a lack of transparency around conveyancing services, the payment of ‘referral fees’, and the weak regulation of estate agents will also be on our agenda in this inquiry.”
Sheila Kumar, chief executive at the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, added: “We welcome MPs recognising the very great importance of reform of the home buying and selling process. Upfront information, digitisation and streamlining of the process will all be key in ensuring smoother, faster and more secure transactions that lead to better outcomes for consumers. The demands of operating the housing market under pandemic restrictions played a part in moving things along, but the pace of progress needs to be maintained if we are to deliver all the potential benefits of reform to consumers and the economy.
“Industry groups such as the Digital Property Market Steering Group and the Home Buying and Selling Group have been doing fantastic work to focus on what is needed, and this inquiry will provide a useful test of the direction of travel and galvanise the huge number of organisations and individuals that will need to deliver improvement. We look forward to providing evidence and working with the inquiry team.”
