Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the practice of gazumping; and whether she has made an assessment of the effectiveness of voluntary reservation agreements in residential sales.

The government recognise that the home buying and selling process in England and Wales is inefficient and costly for consumers and professionals. We continue to review evidence from other jurisdictions, including on reservation agreements, as we consider next steps.