§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make it his policy that acceptance of an offer to purchase a property be a binding legal contract. [20006]
§ Ms KeebleThere is nothing to prevent buyers and sellers agreeing to building contracts when offers are accepted, but we do not believe it would be right to require this by law. Our 1998 consultation exercise showed widespread support for this stance.
As set out in our manifesto, we are committed to making it easier for people buying and selling homes through a new seller's pack. The seller's pack will provide, at the very start of the process, most of the documents and information needed to enable the transaction to proceed speedily and successfully. It will provide prospective buyers with most of the information they need to make an informed offer. The disclosure of this information at the outset will greatly improve transparency and reduce the risk of the transaction failing or the parties having to renegotiate terms due to problems being revealed later on. The necessary legislation will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.
§ Mr. Nigel JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions if he will make a statement on his policy towards gazumping and gazundering in house purchases. [20005]
§ Ms KeebleWe believe the answer to the problems caused by gazumping and gazundering lie in increasing transparency and speeding up the home buying and selling process. That is what our proposals for seller's packs will achieve. Seller's packs will bring about earlier certainty and reduce the period of time during which gazumping 385W and gazundering can occur. The necessary legislation for this will be introduced as soon as parliamentary time allows.