Clause 8 - Home condition reports
Homes Bill
5:15 pm
Mr Nick Raynsford (Minister of State, Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions; Greenwich and Woolwich, Labour)
Perhaps I can clarify the procedure. If I heard the hon. Gentleman correctly, he implied that, although the seller would commission the survey, the buyer would pay for it; but that is not our intention. The seller will commission the survey when preparing the seller's pack and he will have financial liability for it. Depending on the arrangement reached with the estate agent who puts together the seller's pack, it may be paid for at the time or on completion of the sale, but it will be commissioned and paid for by the seller. The seller will have the option to seek further information, but that option could be available to other parties. In certain circumstances, and provided that they are satisfied that the particulars are available and that the surveyor is on an approved panel, lenders may choose to go to the same surveyor for further information in the course of a valuation. I see no reason why such an arrangement could not be made to work. There would obviously need to be safeguards, but it would be sensible.
Equally, on seeing a home condition report, a buyer may seek a further more detailed survey from the same surveyor on the basis that that will probably be more economical than starting out with an entirely different structural survey from a separate surveyor. Again, that is one of the options. Our aim is to ensure that the home condition report provides information of real use to all three parties—seller, buyer and lender—on which they can rely. Also, it should provide a cost-effective way to secure additional information, if that is necessary.