The 2026 Home Buying Reform: What It Means for Your Home's Records

The plan is called the Home Buying and Selling Reform Roadmap. It aims to make sales faster and reduce the number of sales that fall through. It sets out three main changes:

• Sales packs: key information about a home, such as its condition, leasehold costs and chain status, provided when it is first listed for sale.
• Digital property logbooks: a standard part of every sale, holding current and past information about a home.
• Earlier binding contracts: making it harder for a buyer or seller to pull out late in the process.

None of these changes is a legal requirement yet. The government plans to start with a voluntary phase, led by the property industry, and a Code of Practice.

It has said it will pass the necessary laws before the end of this Parliament. It also plans to require logbooks first in some of its own home ownership schemes.

A digital property logbook is an online record of a home. It can hold details of work carried out, certificates, guarantees and other documents.

Unlike paper records, a logbook stays with the home when it is sold. The next owner can see its history and continue adding to it.

The roadmap says logbooks should reduce risk by checking where information comes from. A buyer needs to know who recorded each piece of information, not only what it says.

A record written only by the seller is harder for a buyer to rely on. A record confirmed by the people who did the work gives the buyer more confidence.

Propvio is a digital property logbook built around verified tradespeople. It is designed around the idea that the source of each record should be clear.

• Each job is marked as either confirmed by the tradesperson who did it or reported by the homeowner.
• Propvio checks tradespeople’s identity and accreditation before they receive a Verified badge.
• Reviews can only be left on a job the tradesperson has confirmed.
• Certificates are attached to the work they relate to, with their expiry dates.
• The record stays with the home when you sell, and the next owner can continue it.

Propvio checks who tradespeople are and their accreditation. It does not check whether every job description is accurate.

Propvio does not provide sales packs, and it does not replace the forms and searches your conveyancer uses. You will still need a conveyancer when you sell.

The standards for logbooks under the reform have not been published yet. Propvio does not claim to meet any future legal standard.

To see which documents a conveyancer usually asks for, read What documents will my conveyancer ask for when I sell?

You do not need to wait for new laws to keep a clear record of your home. You can start now.

• Log work on your home as it happens, with the date and cost.
• Tag the tradesperson who did the work, so they can confirm it.
• Attach certificates and guarantees to the job they relate to.
• Add expiry dates, so you are reminded before a certificate runs out.

A record built up over time is more useful to a buyer than one put together just before a sale.