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Home > Home & Garden > Articles > I ve heard a lot about government planes to introduce a house-sellers pack. What is it

I ve heard a lot about government planes to introduce a house-sellers pack. What is it

01:00 Sat 01st Sep 2001 | Home & Garden

A.� The planned house-sellers pack is designed to make the whole process of buying and selling property more open and ultimately quicker. Essentially the idea is to get the home owner to provide information such as local authority searches and surveyors reports to the potential buyer in advance rather than relying on the gradual, drip, drip of information from solicitors as happens now. It is hoped that by making the process more transparent buying and selling a house will be less stressful and cut down on gazumping.

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Q.� What's going to be in the packs then

A.� The whole idea of the packs is still under review, but the those produced for a recent trial included: title documents, replies to local government searches (initiated by the seller), a professional survey of the buildings condition, any guarantees and warranties on new properties and guarentees on things like damp proofing, roofs etc on older properties, copies of planning consents listied building and build regulation consents and a draft contract.

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Q.� Are they going to be compulsory and how much are they going to cost

A.� The government has always maintained it will make the packs compulsory. As far as cost goes there is no settled figure, with estimates ranging from �400 to �700.

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Q.� So when is it going to come about

A.� That's still very much up in the air. The introduction of a house-sellers pack is part of the government's manifesto at the last election and previously it had set a target of having them on the statute book by 2003. However, when parliament reconvened after the election the government temporarily shelved the packs on the grounds they could not free up enough parliamentary time within the next 18 months. Labour insists it remains committed to the scheme but experts believe there is now little likelihood of seeing the packs introduced before 2004.

Q. Is everyone agreed it the packs are a good idea

A.� No, the opposition to them is mounting. The Conservative's have pledged to oppose them, but perhaps the most important opposition is coming from estate agents. Although the National Association of Estate Agents has backed the plan there are a growing number of rebels within the industry.

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The rebels say that the cost of the packs might deter from putting their house on the market in the first place, that for older properties buyers will still want to carry out their own independent surveys, especially if the property has been on the market a long time and that when the market is booming spending two weeks collecting the information could actually slow the process down rather than speed it up.

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There is also a growing lobby of backbench MPs who are concerned about the likely cost of the pack which they believe will be beyond the means of vendors in depressed areas. They want to see many areas, particularly in the north of England exempt of the charges.

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By Tom Gard

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