major reforms will cut a month off the homebuying process, keir starmer says

Labour says its plan will significantly cut the time it takes to go through the buying process too (Picture: Getty Images)

A new string of reforms to the homebuying process will halve the number of transactions that fall through and knock a month off the time it takes to complete,the Prime Minister has said.

Estate agents and sellers will be made to provide more important details about their houses to buyers upfront,as part of new plans to modernise the UK’s housing market.

Under the new proposals,binding contracts would also be brought in at a much earlier point,to stop either side abandoning negotiations after months of stress.

According to the government,the measures would chop four weeks off the average five-month wait between instruction and completion.

They would also help halve the number of home transactions that fall through while saving first-time buyers £710 on average,a spokesperson claimed.

Writing for Metro,PM Sir Keir Starmer said the moves would ‘make house buying faster,cheaper and simpler’.

He wrote: ‘Buying a home should be one of the most exciting moments in a person’s life. It shouldn’t be a nightmare to navigate.

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You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages,a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from:– Award winning service from the UK’s leading mortgage broker– Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week– Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the marketUnlike many mortgage brokers,L&C won’t charge you a fee for their advice.Find out how much you could borrow onlineMortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C),which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.‘By making it much easier to buy and sell your house,we’ll restore the dream of homeownership to millions.’Keir Starmer has written for Metro about the plans,now under consultation (Picture: James Veysey/Shutterstock)The proposals,described by the government as the ‘biggest shakeup to the homebuying system in this country’s history’,are now under consultation.Estate agents are already required to provide some information to buyers,such as flood risk,building safety and leasehold details.But the new measures would introduce another set of details that must be disclosed,such as upfront condition reports and searches.The Conservatives said the announcement was reminiscent of the ‘Home Information Packs’ introduced under Tony Blair,which the party said ‘reduced the number of homes put on sale,and duplicated costs across buyers and sellers’.Shadow housing minister Paul Holmes said: ‘Labour are also damaging the opportunities of home buyers,by failing to meet their 1.5 million new homes built by the end of the Parliament target,and their dire record under Sadiq Khan in London shows how building under Labour goes.‘The main pressure on housing is immigration and that’s why we’ve set out tough new plans to ensure the British public is put first.’Mandatory qualifications and a formal code of practice may also be introduced for estate,letting and managing agents to help weed out dodgy businesses and individuals.The full ‘roadmap’ of system reforms is expected to be published in the new year.