In England and Wales, buyers and sellers can withdraw from a property sale before contracts are exchanged, even after the other party has spent hundreds or thousands of pounds on solicitors, searches and surveys.

We believe this can unfairly leave people significantly out of pocket through no decision of their own. There should be greater financial accountability when someone withdraws from an agreed house sale without reasonable cause after the other party has already incurred costs.

We have lost £950 through doing searches for the 2 houses that we have gone to buy, for them to then decide to pull out from selling.