Clause 3 - Duties of responsible person where a property is on the market
Homes Bill
10:45 am
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
It certainly would be a matter of good practice. I can envisage circumstances, such as if the property had been on the market for a long time, in which the agent would simply not have a means of contacting people who had expressed an interest but not left forwarding addresses. It would be difficult to impose an absolute obligation, but informing people where possible would be good practice.
Under amendments Nos. 38 and 39, if the contents of the pack changed between a copy of the pack being requested and being provided, the responsible person would be obliged to provide a copy of the revised pack—and all within the 14-day deadline; the pack could change on day 13, for example. If a copy of the new or revised document could not be obtained and provided within 14 days of the original request, the responsible person would have committed an offence. To put people in a position in which they could be in breach of the law in such circumstances would be wholly inappropriate and unreasonable. In such circumstances, the responsible person will be expected to make every effort to ensure that the copy documents are fully up to date, but that should not be made a formal obligation subject to criminal sanctions.
In view of what I have said about the circumstances in which we intend to allow properties to be marketed with an incomplete seller's pack, I hope that hon. Members will consider not moving amendment No. 29 when the Committee turns its attention to clause 7, when, as I told the hon. Member for Eastbourne, we shall return to the subject in detail. For now, I hope that the hon. Member for Eastbourne will withdraw amendment No. 35.