The government won’t profit from Home Information Packs, but construction will

In essence, the seller will have to produce a seller’s pack containing all the conveyance work that a solicitor would normally have carried out anyway, but in advance of the sale. This means that it need only be done once and not several times in the case where a chain collapses. The pack will also contain an energy performance certificate that will rate the performance of the property and give a fair idea of its energy efficiency, annual CO2 emissions and make recommendations for improvements to reduce annual fuel bills.

The Home Condition Report that was once to be mandatory in this pack is now an option and will reduce the risk of a surveyor unearthing defects that may lead to an abortive sale.

All the government gets out of this is statistics to satisfy the European Directive. The construction industry will be called upon to survey, repair and re-roof properties, install insulation and new services to properties across the land and make a contribution to the reduction in fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

I realise the domestic property market is small compared to national infrastructure and the commercial property market, but an Englishman’s home is still his castle. I hope to pass mine on to the children one day… when inheritance tax will be an issue. Let’s not confuse the two if we want a future for our planet.