Petition · Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Amend the home buying process in England to align with Scotland
Closed
213 signatures
What the petition asks
We ask the UK Government to reform property law in England to align more closely with the Scottish model. The process in Scotland makes offers legally binding earlier, which we think helps reduce fall-throughs and creates a more secure, fair process for all.
We believe the home buying/selling process in England is archaic, slow, uncertain and costly. Sales can often fail due to legal loopholes like gazumping & late stage withdrawals. We think these could be prevented by making accepted offers legally binding earlier, and introducing set timescales to complete transactions.
We believe these changes would help protect buyers and sellers, reduce wasted costs, and could mean the government will receive more taxes quicker.
We believe these changes would help protect buyers and sellers, reduce wasted costs, and could mean the government will receive more taxes quicker.
Timeline
| 30 Sep 2025 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 30 Mar 2026 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
213
Status
Closed
Department
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government
Opened
30 Sep 2025
Closed
30 Mar 2026
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 27 Jul 2026.