More than five years after first promising to radically change the way in which houses are bought and sold in England and Wales, the government is at last putting the finishing touches to its blueprint for reform.

While it has been weighing up various plans for change, another 1.5m Britons have fallen victim to the most tortuous house-buying system in Europe. They have shelled out more than £1 billion to lawyers and surveyors after having an offer accepted, only for the sale to fall through.

One in three sales collapse. Some buyers are gazumped, others come across nasty surprises in the home they were hoping to buy, and thousands more discover that there are hidden catches in the legal paperwork. Surveys have rated home-buying more stressful than getting a divorce.

Last week, Lord Rooker surprised many property experts by telling The Sunday Times that the government was pushing ahead with plans to force those putting their homes on the market to provide a seller’s pack, consisting of a basic survey, legal contracts and other information to potential buyers. The pack is predicted to cost about £700 to compile, although some believe the figure could rise to £1,000 or more in London.

Rooker hopes that if buyers know what they are getting into when they first view a property, this will rapidly cut the time it takes to seal a deal. At the moment, it takes an average of 12 weeks from an offer being accepted to contracts being exchanged. It is hoped this could fall to four weeks, reducing the opportunity for gazumpers to move in with a higher offer when potential buyers have already paid out for surveyors and solicitors.

The seller’s packs should also reduce the scope for hidden surprises between offer and completion, as potential buyers will have already seen a survey.

The measures will be contained in a draft housing bill to be unveiled in this Wednesday’s Queen’s speech. Rooker hopes it will become law before the next general election.

“We are not happy with the system at the moment. It’s a problem of consumer protection and of fairness,” says Rooker. “Let’s face it, buying and selling a house is the biggest thing people will do. If we can get fewer sales falling through it has got to be good for everyone.”

News of the shake-up has come too late for Andrew Stafford and Patrick Cross — just two of the many victims of the current system. Stafford was recently gazumped when trying to buy a converted barn near Saltby in Lincolnshire. He was told to up his offer by 5% to “stay in the race” to buy the property, but refused.

“I didn’t even know I was in a race,” says Stafford, an IT consultant. “It was a nightmare thinking that my wife, three kids, three cats and a dog might be homeless.”

Patrick Cross and his wife, Sheila, both in their forties, endured a similar shock when buying their three-bedroom detached home (with no upward chain) in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. Two months after their offer was accepted, they were informed by the estate agent that the price had risen by 5% — equivalent to an extra £7,500.

“It was a horrendous experience,” says Sheila, a carer. The Crosses were given 24 hours’ notice to stump up the extra cash, and eventually paid £155,000, which amounted to £5,000 more than the original asking price. “I am disgusted with both the seller and the estate agent,” says Patrick, a local-government employee. The completion date was delayed by two months, due to paperwork and the chain the seller suddenly found himself in — buying a house through the same estate agent.

Government ministers are pinning their hopes on the reforms proving popular, but others are not so sure the proposed scheme is the solution, and point to gaping holes in it.

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