Estate agents and property professionals are being urged to start preparing for major changes to the home-moving process rather than wait for new requirements to arrive. Industry leaders issued the call during a webinar hosted by LMS’s National Property Transaction Network (NPTN).
Government roadmap outlines reforms
The event followed the government’s home buying and selling reform roadmap. The roadmap sets out plans for greater use of upfront property information, digital sales packs and logbooks. The government also wants to improve data sharing across transactions.
However, panellists argued that agents and other property businesses can start changing their processes now. They also encouraged firms to participate in industry trials and consultations. By getting involved early, businesses could help shape how future requirements work in practice.
‘Don’t wait’ for regulation
More than 180 property professionals joined the LMS webinar. The panel included Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association; Leon Ifayemi, director of coalitions and research at CFIT; and Maria Harris, chair of the Open Property Data Association.
Harris said frontline property professionals need to participate in developing the reforms. “A huge amount of input into getting these things right is having frontline business and operational people in the room,” she said. That involvement would help ensure proposals reflect “real transactions and what obstacles are actually holding them up”, she added.
The government plans to identify sales pack information that firms can provide voluntarily. It subsequently intends to introduce legislation requiring sales packs before agents market properties. The roadmap also sets out plans to make digital property logbooks and sales packs standard features of transactions.
Agents encouraged to get involved early
Panellists argued that firms adopting digital processes early could reduce duplication and spend less time chasing information. Early adopters could also provide practical evidence about what works. This could influence future requirements before the government finalises them.
Ifayemi said: “We don’t want a world where change is forced through at the last minute, at far greater cost to everyone involved.”
Rudolf also urged agents and other property professionals to participate in the work already under way. “Talk to us,” she said. “We need to know from you what you need […] engage early and come and try things now.
“This is the government’s opportunity to see the solutions develop to deliver the maximum benefits before they legislate; so get involved and make sure any unintended consequences are sorted before it becomes law.”
The government published its reform roadmap in June 2026. It plans to introduce the changes in stages, with the property industry contributing to the process.
