Rejected petition Ban gazumping in the housing market

In Scotland, acceptance of an offer to buy a property is legally binding and requires the payment of a deposit. I am looking for the law to be changed in England and Wales in the same manner.

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Currently in England and Wales, it is possible to agree to the purchase of a property, and invest money in surveys and legal fees (not to mention time and emotional energy), only for another seller to come in with a higher bid and the sale is lost, along with any costs incurred i.e. "gazumping". This needs to stop.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

The following petition calls for a similar action:

Introduce conveyancing laws similar to those in Scotland, across England & Wales
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/709395

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 12 March 2025
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