§ 1. Mr. Boardmanasked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs if, in order to protect prospective buyers of old houses, he will request local authorities at the time of making a clearance order to mark clearly all house properties affected by the order.
§ The Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs (Sir Keith Joseph)No, Sir. The best protection for a prospective purchaser is to make full inquiries of the local authority.
§ Mr. BoardmanIs the Minister aware of the number of young couples with families who have bought such houses in desperation and ignorance and who now find themselves tied to a building society paying for a house which no longer exists? Would not the Minister agree that the simple marking of these houses would stamp out this blatant exploitation?
§ Sir K. JosephI do not think that it would be simple to ensure that a system of marking houses physically would not be abused or misunderstood in some way. If, however, the hon. Member is aware of many cases like this, of people who have inquired of their local authority but have not been given accurate answers, I hope that he will let me know.
§ Mr. BoardmanI will let the Minister have details of a case in which the town hall was consulted and solicitors were employed.