On 19 June 2026 the government published its Homebuying and Selling Reform Roadmap, the biggest shake-up of how property changes hands in England since Home Information Packs were scrapped over a decade ago. For estate agents across the country, it sets out new paperwork in the short term and a longer-term shift in who gets to call themselves an agent at all.
What the roadmap actually changes
The roadmap responds to two consultations run between October and December 2025, and takes aim at a real problem: the average UK property transaction still takes around 120 days from offer to completion, and roughly one in three sales fall through before exchange. The headline measures are:
- Upfront sales packs – sellers and their agents will need to provide key information (condition, leasehold costs, chain status) at the point a property is listed, not weeks into a sale.
- Binding conditional contracts – transactions become legally binding sooner, from the point an offer is accepted, rather than only at exchange.
- Digital transformation – digital identity checks, e-signatures and better data-sharing between agents, solicitors and lenders.
A Code of Practice – and mandatory qualifications to follow
For agents specifically, the roadmap commits to publishing a non-statutory Code of Practice for property agents later in 2026, setting a minimum standard of best practice. It is non-statutory for now: ministers say they will watch how the industry responds and consider legislating if it is not enough. A formal consultation on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents is expected in 2027, with grandfathering arrangements for experienced agents already under discussion. The fuller package – mandatory sales packs, secure digital data-sharing, early binding contracts – is not due to become law until 2029.
It is a slower timeline than some in the industry wanted, but it is still notable for a trade that has never required a qualification to use the title “estate agent”.
What it means if you are choosing an agent this year
None of this changes how to work with an agent today – the existing rules on redress scheme membership and conduct still apply – but it is worth knowing what is coming. Whether you are selling in Aberdare, weighing up agents in Royston, or comparing options in Altrincham, an agent who already operates to a high standard – clear terms, realistic valuations, proactive communication – has little to fear from a Code of Practice built around exactly that. Separately, agents themselves say the roadmap is not their biggest day-to-day pressure this year: in a recent industry survey, nearly four in five ranked the Renters’ Rights Bill as the most significant regulatory change they are dealing with in 2026, ahead of EPC and energy-efficiency rules.
Timeline at a glance
- 2026 – Code of Practice and listing-information guidance published (non-statutory)
- 2027 – consultation on mandatory qualifications for estate and letting agents
- 2029 – full legislation: mandatory upfront sales packs, digital data-sharing, early binding contracts
Nothing in the roadmap is compulsory yet. But the agents who adapt early – publishing clearer upfront information, tightening their own processes now – are likely to find the eventual Code of Practice a formality rather than a scramble.
