Clause 7Contents of sellers' packs
Homes Bill
5:00 pm
Mr Nigel Waterson (Eastbourne, Conservative)
Amendment No. 43 is very simple. I am not entirely clear why ``shall'' has not been used: the Minister cannot be in any doubt that the regulations will be issued in due course. It could be a drafting point and I am willing to listen to reason on that.
Amendment No. 5 would take out of the seller's pack reference to the local authority searches and linked amendment would take out reference to the home condition report. I shall return to those matters later and speak first to some of the amendments that are easier to deal with.
The reasoning behind amendment No. 7 on flooding is self-evident. In recent months, few hon. Members can fail to have received letters in their postbag about flooding—some cases more serious than others—as a result of sustained rain over a long period. Some time ago, the Minister made it clear that the Government, as well as producing new planning guidance—currently in draft form, but likely to be finalised soon—were considering using the Bill to address the flooding problem. I cannot lay my hands on the reference, but it appears in Hansard. The Conservatives regard that suggestion with favour. It underlines the inadvisability of insisting that the seller's pack contain a home condition report. We shall debate the format in detail when we reach clause 8 and I do not want to stray too far, but to what extent will it deal with flooding? Will the information be reliable? If there has been severe flooding over several months, will information be provided about how badly the condition of a particular property could be affected?
I return to amendments Nos. 5 and 19. Several organisations, including the Law Society and the Council of Mortgage Lenders, are concerned about the requirements stipulated in the amendments. Although the National Association of Estate Agents is broadly supportive of the reforms, it would surely accept that not every estate agent is signed up to the proposals. Strong views are held on the subject. We need look no further than the Second Reading speech of the hon. Member for Upminster, who warned against
over-promoting the proposals as a panacea for the problems inherent in the system of moving home.
On the basis of his nearly 30 years of experience as a conveyancer and member of the Law Society, he believed that the problem was caused
not by the conveyancing process, but by the nature of our housing economy.
The hon. Gentleman was also critical of attempts, not least those of the Minister, to compare our system with that of other countries. In fairness, the Minister would accept that it is difficult to draw close parallels when markets, habits and occupation levels are different.
The hon. Member for Upminster made the telling point that:
As a result of the high proportion of home ownership—
as we know it is 69 per cent. in this country—
and the low proportion of private rented accommodation in England and Wales, few people who have to move home can consider moving into temporary accommodation.
That, of course, is a solution found in other countries, not least in Scotland, where I believe there is a tradition of people moving into rented accommodation rather than endure the tremendous climactic event whereby everyone in a chain moves house on the same day. I seem to recall a rather good film on the subject; it was made many years ago, but remains true today.
The hon. Gentleman made a fair point—no doubt doing so sank his chances of serving on the Committee. He that the proposal will help those moving home, but only marginally and at a cost—financially and otherwise. He says, for example that:
an unscrupulous seller might obtain a seller's pack and hawk it around.
He came up with other criticisms, pointing to the efforts of the Law Society and others over quite a long period to speed up the system.
It is important that we do not pretend that we are acting in a vacuum. Things are happening, things have been happening and things will continue to happen to speed up and make more efficient the system of conveyancing in this country. It is fair to say that the Law Society and estate agents have been at the forefront of that effort. Lots of things are changing, such as the development of the internet, and so on. It may be a while before the internet is fully effective, but searches and other activities will eventually become a matter of clicking a mouse.
The hon. Member for Upminster talked about the extension of communications technology, saying that
local and land registry searches will be available at the touch of a computer keyboard—
but adding—
I think we can ignore them as a factor leading to delay and uncertainty, although they are relevant to the question of cost and who is to bear it.—[Official Report, 8 January 2001; Vol. 360, c. 787-88.]
He pointed that it has always been possible to make a personal search, it just costs extra money. If there is a great hurry, it is always possible to pay for your solicitor to send someone down to the local council office and make a personal search, even in the age of the internet. The hon. Gentleman mentioned serious reservations about the front-loading of costs, extra costs, the need for further surveys, and so on. He also, rather interestingly, talked about the problems of criminal sanctions. What a shame the Committee does not have the benefit of his advice.