Almost a third of estate agents provide unsatisfactory home information packs according to a survey by Birmingham Trading Standards.
Results of the study carried out at the end of last year revealed that, of the 37 packs examined, 70% were rated satisfactory or reasonably satisfactory, and 30% rated unsatisfactory when measured against the HIP regulations.
The survey set out to test approximately 25% of the estate agent market within the Birmingham boundary.
Conducted in conjunction with independent regulator the Property Codes Compliance Board (PCCB), it was the most comprehensive estate agent and HIP enforcement exercise carried out since the introduction of the sellers packs in 2007.
The most common faults included: no information provided on the complaint or redress procedure; no consumer information; no company contact details; technical issues with the search; and HIP index-related issues.
PCCB chairman Richard Footitt said: ‘This exercise gives a timely and reliable insight into the current level of compliance within the industry, and should serve as a warning both to estate agents and HIP providers that they must comply with the law and regulations.’
Richard Barnett, chairman of the Law Society’s conveyancing and land law committee, said: ‘This comes as no surprise, as HIPs under the present regulations are always going to be done on the cheap, as they have no value to the buyer.’
Meanwhile, the Land Registry has confirmed a change to its new policy for billing customers for services accessed from its new portal, when it replaces Land Registry Direct in April 2010.
For those who pay by variable direct debit it will reduce the frequency of low-value collections by introducing a £50 threshold collection. The change follows feedback from customers who said its previous decision to debit accounts each time they used a Registry service would increase their bank charges.
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