How Do House Competitions Work in the UK?

What is a house competition?

A house competition is a prize competition in which the prize is a residential property. Entrants pay for entries — typically structured as bundles rather than single tickets — and one winner is selected at random after the entry window closes. The term “house raffle” is commonly used in everyday language, but legally these are prize competitions, not raffles or lotteries.

The legal distinction is significant:

• A lottery requires a Gambling Commission licence if run commercially, or must benefit a non-commercial society (as a society lottery).
• A prize competition does not require a Gambling Commission licence, provided it offers a genuine free-entry route and is promoted compliantly under the ASA/CAP Code.

All legitimate UK house competitions operate as prize competitions with a free postal entry route. The free-entry route is what keeps them legal.

Who runs house competitions?

There are two main types of operator:

Established operators — companies that run house draws as their primary business. These include:

• Omaze UK — runs draws for UK residential properties, donates 17% of ticket revenue to a named charity partner with a £1 million minimum per draw (Omaze, November 2023).
• Raffle House — runs property prize competitions and states that 10% of net proceeds goes to a charity chosen from its partner list (rafflehouse.com, July 2026).
• Others — a small number of similar operators have entered the market. See our win-a-house page for the current list of active operators.

Self-organised draws — individuals or estate agents wishing to sell a property by competition can use platforms such as Raffall to structure and run their own draw. These are smaller-scale and require the organiser to comply with prize competition law.

Several UK prize draw operators, including established house competition companies, have signed up to the government-backed Voluntary Code of Good Practice for Prize Draw Operators (gov.uk). The code sets out expectations on clear pricing, transparent odds information and a genuine free-entry route. Signing up is not mandatory, so its absence from an operator’s site is not itself proof of non-compliance, but it is a useful signal when comparing operators.

How does the entry process work?

For an established operator:

1. A property is announced with a launch date, entry prices and a closing deadline.
2. Entrants buy entry bundles through the operator’s website. Entry prices typically start at around £10 per bundle, with larger bundles offering more entries per pound. Prices vary by draw and operator, so check the current listing before entering.
3. A free postal entry route is available — entrants write their details on a plain piece of paper and post it to the address in the draw’s terms and conditions. One free postal entry has the same individual odds as one paid entry.
4. At the closing deadline, the operator draws one winner at random from all valid entries (paid and free combined).
5. The winner is contacted privately, then publicly announced.

What happens between winning and getting the keys?

Winning a house draw is not an instantaneous transfer. The process involves:

Stage	What happens	Typical timeframe
Winner notification	Operator calls then emails the winner	Days after draw closes
Identity verification	Winner proves identity and eligibility	Days to a week
Legal instruction	Solicitors instructed on both sides	After verification
Conveyancing	Title searches, contracts, transfer at HMLR	8–12 weeks typically
Key handover	Winner receives keys	After conveyancing completes

The conveyancing timeline is the main variable — straightforward transfers can complete in under ten weeks; complications (leasehold title queries, missing documents, searches) can push this to six months or more.

What does winning a house competition actually cost you?

The prize is free, but several costs fall to the winner:

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT): When you win a property in a prize competition, HMRC treats it as an acquisition at market value for SDLT purposes. On a property worth £500,000, using the rates in force since April 2025, SDLT on a main residence is £15,000; if you already own another property, the additional-property surcharge takes this to around £40,000 (gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax, July 2026). Scotland uses Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT); Wales uses Land Transaction Tax (LTT), both with their own bands.

Legal fees: Conveyancing solicitor’s fees for the winner’s side, typically £1,000–£2,000. Some operators, including Omaze, state in their prize marketing that stamp duty and legal fees are covered by the operator rather than the winner — this is not universal, so check the specific draw’s T&Cs before assuming it applies.

Survey costs: Optional but advisable if you intend to keep the property rather than sell immediately.

Running costs from handover: Council tax, buildings insurance and utilities are the winner’s responsibility from the transfer date.

For a detailed breakdown of all costs, see our guide to winning a house and what happens next.

What if the draw does not attract enough entries?

If an operator’s draw fails to attract enough entries to cover the prize, operating costs and the stated charity donation, the outcome depends on the operator’s terms and conditions. Some operators (including Omaze) have charity minimum guarantees that must be paid regardless of ticket sales. Others may have rollover or cancellation clauses. See our house raffle rollover guide for the full picture.

For a list of all currently active UK house draws, see the win-a-house page.

18+, UK residents. T&Cs apply — check the operator’s rules.