A request to amend the sale agreement should be treated as a proposed change, not as an agreed change. Before signing the formal agreement, the seller should identify the exact wording, compare it with the provisional agreement, and check whether it changes any basic term or adds a special condition. The Community Legal Information Centre (CLIC) states that both parties must fully agree to all proposed special conditions before signing.
Check the basic terms first
The Estate Agents Authority explains that the formal agreement incorporates the basic terms agreed between the parties in the provisional agreement. The seller should therefore compare the two documents and check:
- Which basic terms are being changed.
- Whether the formal agreement reflects the terms already agreed in the provisional agreement.
- Whether any wording has been added, removed, or altered.
- Which differences still require clarification.
A request should not be treated as a minor administrative matter merely because it appears small. Its wording and effect on the agreement still need to be identified.
Review special conditions separately
CLIC’s guidance focuses on special conditions proposed for the formal agreement: both parties must fully agree to all of them before signing. The seller should:
- List each proposed special condition.
- Check the exact wording rather than relying on a summary of the request.
- Distinguish a change to a basic term from a proposed special condition.
- Keep unresolved wording clearly identified until the parties have fully agreed.
- Check that the final version reflects the agreed position before signing.
The seller should not record a proposed condition as agreed simply because it has been requested or discussed.
What the seller must still confirm
The cited guidance does not state a fixed amendment fee, deadline, mandatory form, or automatic approval process. Those details should not be assumed. Before relying on an amendment, the seller should confirm:
- The exact final wording.
- Whether the change affects a basic term, a special condition, or both.
- That both parties have fully agreed to all proposed special conditions before signing.
- Any additional formalities or case-specific questions not addressed by the cited guidance.
If the request concerns an amendment after signing, or raises a question about the legal effect of a particular change, the seller should obtain case-specific advice rather than treat these two points as a determination of that issue.