Published on : Wed, 02 Nov 2005 08:32GMT
by : Richard Byers

LONDON - Homeowners looking to sell their properties would now be forced to shell out £1,000 for Home Information Packs describing the property including the local searches.

The government has plans to introduce these new packs in order to change the way property is brought and sold. The new rules will come into effect from early 2007. Critics have slammed the Government for failing to recognize that the new rules were an open invitation for fake inspectors, "Home information packs will be a breeding ground for cowboys, happy to ignore problems or, worse, not qualified to identify them. Most buyers will simply not trust the report of a home inspector paid by the seller and will end up paying for their own survey," said Sarah Teather, a spokeswoman for the Liberal Democrats.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott will unveil these plans shortly and around 7,000 inspectors will be trained for 18 months on a part-time basis. The Government has denied that the packs will cost a thousand pounds saying instead that the total costs would be in the region of £600 and £700.

This step would save £1 million that is wasted each day as property sellers are forced to pay for surveys, legal fees and searches, according to Yvette Cooper, the housing minister, "Buying a home is stressful enough without losing hundreds of pounds on legal fees or valuations for properties that then fall through. It is crazy that over £1 million a day is wasted like this. Home Information Packs will save money and cut waste in buying and selling homes," she said.

But the Tories slammed this policy as another of Labour's harebrained schemes, "Labour's sellers' packs will simply put up the cost of selling a home, create more red tape and ultimately undermine a fragile market," said Tory spokeswoman Caroline Spelman.