The short version
- Under version 2 of the New Homes Quality Code, for homes reserved from 2 March 2026, nobody signs a reservation agreement until the buyer has all the information the Code lists.
- Every buyer gets at least 14 days to cool off, with a full refund of the reservation fee.
- The agreement sets the date contracts must exchange by. It must be reasonable, and at least six weeks after reservation unless the buyer asks for sooner, so track it from day one.
Who the rules apply to
The New Homes Quality Code applies to developers registered with the New Homes Quality Board: 581 of them in 2025/26, up from 461 the year before. Registration is voluntary for now, though the government has signalled that membership will become mandatory for all housing developers.
The Code reaches agents too. Any agents a developer uses "must make sure they are familiar with and meet the requirements of the Code". Developers who aren't registered usually follow another code instead, such as the Consumer Code for Home Builders, which also gives buyers a 14-day cooling-off period with a full refund.
What the buyer must have before signing
Version 2 of the Code is firm: the developer and the buyer "must not enter into a Reservation Agreement until all the information" it lists has been provided. The agreement must be clear, fair and written in plain language, signed by both, with a copy for the buyer. The list includes:
- Who the seller is, and the amount of the reservation fee
- The home: property type, plot number, development, postal address and parking
- The price, and how long the price and the agreement are valid for
- The cooling-off period, how to cancel, and what can be deducted from a refund after it
- How and when the agreement ends, and the date contracts must exchange by
- Tenure and all the costs that come with it, including how they may change
- Yearly management costs and any event fees
- The warranty provider, and a summary of the cover
- Anything the sale depends on, such as a part exchange
- How shared spaces, roads and amenities will be managed
The buyer also gets an affordability schedule: ground rent, management and event fees, and likely changes to service charges, over the five years after the sale. The Code's section 2.2 has the full list.
Cooling-off and refunds
Every reservation agreement must include a cooling-off period of at least 14 days from signing. If the buyer cancels for any reason in that time, the developer must refund the full reservation fee.
After cooling-off, the agreement may set out deductions from a refund. The developer must refund the rest within 14 days of the buyer's notice to cancel. While the agreement is valid, the developer can't cancel the reservation or agree a sale of that home with anyone else.
If the developer makes a major change to the home, the buyer can cancel within 14 days of being told in writing, and get back everything they've paid.
The fee itself must be protected, for example in a client account. Agree up front who holds it, the developer or the agent, and how a refund is paid.
In one of our sales, the buyer had second thoughts during the cooling-off period. Because the reservation form set out the fee and the cooling-off terms clearly, everyone knew where they stood: it was sorted in a day, and the sale held.
A clear agreement, and everyone working from the same dates, stops a wobble becoming a dispute. PlotBot keeps each sale's dates, from the reservation date to the exchange target, on one record the developer and the agent both see.
The exchange deadline
The agreement must say when contracts must exchange. Under the Code, that date must be reasonable for the sale, and not less than six weeks after reservation (28 days plus the 14-day cooling-off) unless the buyer asks for an earlier date. The Code sets no maximum, so the agreement itself decides how long the reservation lasts and what happens when it ends.
- Send the sales memo and contract pack straight away, so the solicitors start work during cooling-off, not after it.
- Track every plot against its exchange deadline from the day it's reserved.
- If a sale is drifting, deal with it through the agent and the solicitors well before the reservation runs out.
No pressure
The Code bans pressure selling. That includes falsely suggesting other buyers are interested or prices are about to rise, and offering an incentive in return for an immediate decision. At time-limited events such as launch weekends, buyers must be given seven days to consider, with the incentive (but not a particular home) held open for them. Any fee or commission for recommending a solicitor or broker must be disclosed in writing before the buyer commits.
For agents: your own duties
Estate agents have rules of their own. Since 6 April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 treats leaving out material information, or giving it in an unclear or untimely way, as an unfair practice. The Property Ombudsman's code says agents shouldn't generally take pre-contract deposits unless the buyer and seller want to use a reservation agreement. If you do take one, the terms for holding, refunding or forfeiting it must be clear and in writing, and the money held in a client account.
A reservation checklist
- All the Code's information given before the agreement is signed
- Agreement clear, fair and in plain language, signed by both, with a copy for the buyer
- 14-day cooling-off explained, with a full refund
- Any deductions after cooling-off set out in the agreement
- Exchange date set: reasonable, and at least six weeks unless the buyer asks for sooner
- Affordability schedule given
- Who holds the reservation fee agreed, and the fee protected
- Sales memo sent the day the reservation is made
- Every plot tracked against its exchange deadline
- No pressure: launch event buyers given seven days
Every reservation on the clock from day one.
PlotBot records each reservation the day it's made, and every clock starts from it: the sales memo, and the exchange target from your own reservation terms. If exchange starts drifting past the target, the plot turns amber, so it's dealt with through the agent and the solicitors before the reservation runs out. Reservation fees go straight to the developer or the agent, as you agree, never through PlotBot, and PlotBot never contacts your buyers.
Questions developers and agents ask
How long is the cooling-off period on a new build reservation?
At least 14 days from signing the reservation agreement, under the New Homes Quality Code. If the buyer cancels in that time, for any reason, they get the full reservation fee back.
Can the developer keep part of the reservation fee?
Only if the buyer cancels after cooling-off, and only the deductions set out in the reservation agreement. The rest must be refunded within 14 days of the buyer's notice to cancel.
How long does a reservation last?
As long as the agreement says. It must state how long it's valid for and when contracts must exchange. Under the Code, the exchange date must be reasonable and at least six weeks after reservation unless the buyer asks for sooner. The Code sets no maximum.
Can the developer sell the home to someone else during a reservation?
No. While the reservation agreement is valid, the developer can't cancel it or agree a sale of that home with anyone else.
Sources
- The Code: New Homes Quality Board, New Homes Quality Code version 2 (March 2026), sections 1.3, 1.6, 1.7, 2.2 to 2.5, 2.9 and 2.13
- Registered developers: New Homes Quality Board (September 2026)
- A mandatory scheme: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, pipeline notice (May 2026)
- The Consumer Code for Home Builders: Foot Anstey, What has changed in the fifth edition (February 2024)
- Agents' deposits: The Property Ombudsman, Code of Practice for Residential Estate Agents, section 11
- Material information: Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 227
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current Code and your own reservation agreement.
Also read: Why new build sales fall through, and how developers stop it