The recommendation was made as part of a review into Residential Property Transactions led by Deputy David Johnson.

Deputy Johnson said: "The present procedure governing property transactions was established in the 19th century and the overall objective of this review has been to assess whether the present system adequately serves the needs of the public in the present age. "

One of the principal areas of concern is the fact no form of preliminary contract is signed for the majority of transactions. This means that until contracts are passed before the Royal Court, "there is no certainty that matters will proceed; this degree of uncertainty gives rise to the possibility of last-minute problems."

Local estate agents reported that only about 5% of transactions fall through with rare occasions of gazumping and gazundering, when either a buyer or seller try to renegotiate or pull out of a transaction at the last minute.

Pictured: 5% of property transactions fall through before reaching Royal Court.

However when a transaction does fall through, this has a significant impact on the individuals involved. The Jersey Consumer Council said: " I think people do mind those costs, people are budgeting, evaluating every element of the purchase of a property or a sale of a property because it makes a big difference. All these costs we have mentioned, whether it is just the removal company, changing utilities, all of these add up and often people are then putting it on to their mortgage as the only way they can do it. That is another chunk you are paying off.”

One islander reported that a failed transaction in early 2016 had cost them over £10,000, due to several changes in the date of the transaction.

The review panel wrote: "Where the sale of a property fails to complete at the last minute, a significant cost can be incurred by the prospective buyer. This can add significantly to the costs already accumulated in the process of the purchase of a property and may put the buyer in a difficult financial position. The seller may also be put at a financial disadvantage."

The Panel has asked the Chief Minister to launch a consultation on an agreement which would be binding, and any party, whether it be the buyers or the sellers, who fail to comply with it would fail a financial penalty. They noted in their report: "The parties could be reasonably confident that a transaction would proceed to completion once the preliminary agreement was in place, thereby removing the uncertainty which applies in those cases where there is no binding commitment until contracts are passed before the Royal Court."

Pictured: The Review Panel has called for the introduction of a second weekly court date for property transactions.

The Panel also considered the introduction of a deposit system which would have to be put down when the contract between the seller and potential buyer is signed.

To facilitate property transactions, the Panel suggested the introduction of a second date in the weekly Royal Court calendar, as is the current practice in Guernsey. The Panel noted that the 'Friday only' court date was one of the most frequently commented on issues with many islanders citing it as hindrance from "a purely practical point of view."

The Panel also recommended that all Estate Agents should be members of an approved body whose members are subject to a Code of Conduct and the establishment of a local Property Ombudsman to hear complaints. Due to the decreasing number of conveyancers in the Island, the Panel proposed the creation of a new qualification of ‘licensed conveyancer’ with the ability of persons holding such qualification to carry out property transactions independently of law firms.