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An investigation by Birmingham Trading Standards has found that house buyers are being misled because vital information supposed to found in Home Information Packs (HIPs) is inaccurate, incomplete or missing. Officers went into 15 estate agencies in Birmingham and asked to see the HIP for each property. They randomly selected six from the 15 and subjected the local searches contained in the documents to detailed inspection. Trading Standards classed five out of the six as being unsatisfactory. The HIPs falsely claimed that information was not available or answered questions with the statement ‘not as far as is known' when the information was readily available from the local authority. Officers suspect that private search companies are short-circuiting the system to save money. Examples include: - Claiming there is no available planning history on the property when it is readily available
Giving inaccurate dates for planning proposals
Stating there are no planning restrictions on a property when there is a restriction on permitted development
Stating a property is within 200metres of a proposed conservation area when it is inside the proposed conservation area
Declaring the property to be in Worcestershire when it is in Birmingham
A claim that planning history only dated back as far as 1990 when the local council held paper records dating from 1948
Councillor Neil Eustace, Chair of the Public Protection Committee, said: "The results of this survey are shocking. Buying a house is one of the most important investments most people will make and they rely on professionals to do their job properly. "Some of this inaccurate or missing information could result in someone buying a house they would otherwise think twice about. A local authority search would have to be done later and any inaccuracies detected could result in sales falling through. These searches are simply not worth the paper they are written on." Birmingham Trading Standards has now written to the companies involved, asking them to explain the inaccuracies and missing information, in order to investigate further. |
