Clause 3 - Duties of responsible person where a property is on the market
Homes Bill
10:15 am
Mr Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington, Liberal Democrat)
I welcome you to the Chair, Mr. Gale.
I support the Conservative amendments. In relation to amendment No. 35, I was going to spin a detailed story about a sole estate agent on holiday abroad who goes to the beach, where he meets the trading standards officer to whom reference has been made, who recognises the local estate agent, approaches him and asks to see all the seller's packs for the properties currently advertised in that agent's window. I will not elaborate on the story because the Minister has said that although agents will be required to have a seller's pack in their possession at all times, they will have 14 days in which to deliver it. However, those two requirements seem contradictory. How can an agent be required to have a seller's pack in his or her possession at all times while having 14 days in which to provide a copy? I hope that the Minister will be able to explain what appear to be two highly contradictory requirements placed on agents.
Turning to amendment No. 38, of course it is important to discourage sellers from delaying a sale by embarking on a series of possibly spurious searches or inquiries that might delay the handing over of a seller's pack. However, what if the seller is a pillar of the community—a Member of Parliament, doctor, accountant, or even an estate agent—who becomes aware that a significant change is about to occur in the local area, such as the local authority having granted permission for one of the many new incinerators that are to be built to be located close to the property that is being sold? I am sure that that person would want to reflect the changes in the seller's pack, so that the buyers would not come knocking on the door in a few months' time or get in touch with the local press about the dud that had been sold to them.
There will be circumstances in which the people providing the seller's pack will want to be able to update it, which would be to the benefit of the person purchasing the property. Will the Minister make clear whether that will be allowed or whether the seller's pack must be handed over as it stands, irrespective of changes such as work of a major structural nature having been carried out to enhance the property,? I hope that it is not the case that the pack cannot be changed.