The government has introduced a new law designed to speed up the home buying process to approximately six weeks, with the hopes of reducing gazumping. The vendor will be required to produce a 'home information pack' (also known as a 'sellers' pack') before putting a property on the market. However, this law is not due to come into effect until 2007.
The pack will be assembled by the estate agent on behalf of the vendor at a cost of between £400 and £800, depending on a property's size, location and history. It will contain:
- Ownership details and title deeds
- Details of any guarantees and warranties in force
- Details of any relevant planning or listed building regulations
- Results of local council and utility searches
- A survey or home condition report including an energy efficiency assessment
- Terms of sale
Packs for leasehold properties will also contain:
- Details of the lease
- Service charges
- A building insurance policy
- Any regulations made by the landlord
Fears have been raised that buyers and lenders may not fully trust a survey commissioned by the vendor, which means that they would still want to carry out their own survey. Additionally, surveyors are currently only responsible to the person who commissions a survey, and under this system the buyer would have no redress if a major fault was discovered, which could lead to costly legal disputes.
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