Home Information Packs

This is a vast subject and here is not the place to discuss the ramifications in full. Briefly then, the Government plans to reform the way houses in this country (England and Wales with Scotland adopting a very similar scheme but not yet Northern Ireland) are bought and sold. It will be the most significant change since English law was first unified in the 11th Century following the Norman Conquest – we jest not. Estate agency practice and conveyancing practice will all change, probably by the end of this decade. Parliament approved the measures in the Homes Act 2004 and the draft regulations are being drafted so these changes are coming.

Before any home is put on the market the law will require a package of information to be prepared. This will include title details of course, and conventional searches and replies, but much else besides including a Home Condition Report (q.v.). The idea is that prospective buyers can exchange contracts very much more quickly and it is part of the enormous range of changes brought about by the move to e-commerce: in this case, e-conveyancing.