UK Parliament home

This petition was submitted during the 2019 to 2024 Parliament

View other petitions from this Parliament

Closed Make home purchases legally binding once an offer is accepted

Closed on

The process of buying a home in the UK is outdated, complicated, and does not guarantee the seller (or the buyer) the completion of the contract.

The government needs to reform and overhaul the process to guarantee contracts are legally binding upon agreement of purchase and sale.

A good comparison of an effective system is that of Ontario, Canada - where the agreement of purchase and sale is made between the buyer and seller, and at that time the contract is legally binding, ensuring the sale of the home. The fact that the UK system still allows buyers and sellers to delay "exchanging contracts" and to change their mind at the last minute, even with an agreed sale in place is absurd.

179 signatures

Show on a map

10,000

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

  • Petition closed

  • Petition published

    This petition can now be signed.

    If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

    If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

    This petition will stay open until 25 September 2021.