The Government plans to reform the way homes in this country (England and
Wales with Scotland adopting a very similar scheme but not yet Northern Ireland)
are bought and sold. With the introduction of mandatory Home Information Packs
from June 1, 2007. Parliament approved the measures in the Homes Act 2004.
Before any home is put on the market the law will require a package of information
to be prepared, including title details, conventional searches and replies, and
an Energy Efficiency Report. More detailed Home
Condition Reports, which will
be a voluntary extra element when HIPs are introduced, could become mandatory
at a later stage. 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.
