Ministers move to avert MPs revolt

MPs are concerned about housing in rundown areas

The government is expected to take steps to avert a backbench revolt by MPs over plans to change the way homes are sold.

Some Labour MPs have threatened to vote against the Homes Bill because of a proposal to require householders to produce a "seller's pack" before putting their house on the market.

We are prepared to be flexible about this

Nick Raynsford

The sellers' packs, costing between £400 and £700 and backed by an accreditation system, will include a survey, searches and a draft contract for potential buyers.

Ministers have said they will be flexible on this issue after MPs said it could impact harshly on people struggling to sell low cost property in deprived areas.

The Conservative Party has pledged to fight the sellers' packs "all the way" while the Law Society has expressed concern over some aspects of the scheme.

The aim of the bill is to make house buying and selling simpler, fairer and faster.

The idea is to cut the risk of "gazumping", where a previously agreed offer for a property is rejected by the seller in favour of a new but higher bid.

Nick Raynsford: 'Flexible'

The problem is worst in overheated property markets, such as the south east, but virtually unheard of in less prosperous areas.

Joe Ashton, Labour MP for Bassetlaw in north Nottinghamshire, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that some properties - such as ex-council homes - in areas of severe deprivation could take years to sell.

He said Labour MPs were "99%" behind the rest of the bill but wanted to make sure such homeowners were offered "help and some sort of flexibility" over the sellers' packs.

Housing Minister Nick Raynsford told the same programme he fully accepted the concerns over places where property was "virtually impossible" to sell.

"We can't change that magically by changes in the house buying and selling process but we want to ensure that the changes that we are proposing - which are very sensible and will bring enormous benefits to large numbers of people - don't have an adverse impact in one or two areas like that.

Favourable tests

"We are prepared to be flexible about this. The difficulty, frankly, is if you make exceptions how do you do it in a way that does not create new anomalies."

Mr Raynsford stressed the sellers' packs had been tested in areas of low demand and received a favourable reaction.

But, he said, the government was "more than happy" to look at options for alterations as the bill progressed through parliament.

The minister described the overall effect of the proposals as a "much faster, much better system which will cut out a lot of the heartache in the current arrangements".

Conservative housing spokesman Nigel Waterson said that the Tories would be opposing the sellers' pack scheme.

'Manifesto failure'

"The truth is Labour have failed to deliver on their manifesto pledge to tackle gazumping and now they have been exposed as failing their heartlands.

"Sellers' packs will add £700 to the cost of selling your home. Conservatives will fight this botched policy all the way."

The Law Society backs the scheme in general but is worried plans to fine homeowners who fail to provide a seller's survey could stop people putting houses on the market.

The scheme would put a "substantial extra expense" on vendors and hurt those on low incomes or with negative equity, said Michael Napier, the society's president.