Schedule 1 - Fixed penalties and enforcement
Homes Bill
6:45 pm
Mr Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham, Conservative)
I am glad that the answers were so simple and such a matter of common sense that the Minister still needed to read the notes that were thrust under his nose. That shows that the answers were not obvious. Indeed, they give rise to further questions.
Of course a sale will not be interrupted, because only copy documents are required—there will not just be one seller's pack. However, the weights and measures officer will, presumably, have taken action either because something in the seller's pack is incorrect, or because something has not been included in it. Could the sale process be restarted for the vendor, seamlessly and straight away? Could it be restarted with the same firm of estate agents, which would then be required simply to insert the missing document or correct the erroneous one? Given the basis of employee or employer responsibility and liability, could the sale continue with the same estate agent even though an employee of that estate agency was the subject of a criminal investigation? There is a potential conflict of interest. If the sale cannot be restarted with the same estate agent, how easily can it be transferred to an alternative firm?
For the Minister yet again to dismiss my question in a complacent manner is most unsatisfactory. He tells us that the estate agent is contractually obliged to communicate to the vendor that a sale has been interrupted or suspended—whatever terminology he chooses to accept. Where in the contract is it clearly stated that the estate agent has a contractual duty to inform the vendor of any seizure of documents, any interruption or potential interruption of the sale through the actions of weights and measures officers? We, as laymen, want the answers, but so do technical experts and practitioners in the field. It is not a matter of common sense. There are many details still to be provided. The Minister—solo—did not know the answers. We should approach the questions with rather more seriousness than he has shown.