Home Reports
From December 1, 2008, houses for sale will have to be marketed with a Home Report.
This is a pack of three documents: a Single Survey, an Energy Report and a Property Questionnaire. The Home Report will be made available on request to prospective buyers of the home.
Survey report - which includes information on the condition of the property, a market valuation and basic accessibility information. Additionally, on request of the seller, the chartered surveyor can provide a generic ‘Mortgage Valuation Report’ (MVR) for inclusion in the Home Report, which the prospective purchaser can take to a lender to discuss a mortgage.
Energy Report - will also be carried out by the surveyor and it will include an indication of current carbon dioxide emissions resulting directly or indirectly from energy use within the home, any energy efficiency measures implemented in the home and recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the home.
Property Questionnaire - which is completed by the seller and provides information on issues such as Council Tax banding, car parking, factoring arrangements, alterations and planning permissions.
The primary driver for the introduction of the Home Report is to provide better information about the condition and value of a property earlier in the home buying and selling process, so that people can make better informed decisions. Ultimately, this will help to improve the quality of housing in Scotland.
Currently, over 90% of people buying a house use a mortgage valuation report, which provides little detailed information. The Home Report will give buyers more information than ever before on the property, including accessibility information and energy efficiency advice. With buying a house being the probably the single biggest purchase that people will ever make in their life, it makes sense to know as much information about the property as possible.
The new system will also help to reduce the commissioning of multiple surveys and artificially low asking prices for properties.
Some Questions and Answers...
For sellers..
Q1 - Do I have to provide a Home Report if my house is marketed for sale prior to December 1, 2008?
A - No, if you market your house for sale prior to December 1 you will not need to obtain a Home Report. However, if you take your house off the market anytime after December 1 and re-market it, you will have to make a Home Report available.
Q2 - Are there any circumstances where I do not need to provide a Home Report?
A - If you market your house for sale, you must obtain a Home Report. However, the duty to provide a Home Report does not apply if you (or your selling agent) reasonably believe that the person making the request (for a copy Home Report)
- is unlikely to have sufficient means to buy the house in question
- is not genuinely interested in buying the house
- is not a person to whom the seller is likely to be prepared to sell the house (this does not allow people to discriminate, say on grounds of race)
Q3 - What happens if the Single Survey identifies a significant problem with the condition of the house such as dry or wet rot? Does the seller have to rectify the problem?
A - That is a decision for the seller. The seller may choose to rectify the problem or may for other reasons, market the house immediately. There is nothing in the legislation forcing the seller down one particular route. From the Single Survey report, the seller will at least be aware that there is a problem and have options to decide what to do about it.
For buyers...
Q1 - How can buyers receive a copy Home Report?
A - A Buyer should ask whoever is advertising the house for sale for a copy Home Report. This is usually an estate agent/solicitor, but could be another business or individual.
Q2 - Will it cost buyers anything to obtain a copy Home Report?
A - No, buyers will receive a Home Report free of charge, although they may have to pay a reasonable charge to cover the costs of copying and postage. If the seller isn't using an estate agent/solicitor, the buyer should be able to get a Home Report directly from the seller.
Q3 - What can buyers do if a Home Report is not provided?
A - Buyers should receive a Home Report within 9 working days of requesting it. Sellers may refuse to provide a copy in certain limited cases. These are where the seller believes that the person making the request:
- could not afford the house
- is not really interested in buying the house
- is not a person to whom the seller would wish to sell the house (but this does not allow them to unlawfully discriminate against someone
If a buyer believes that they are being denied a copy of the Home Report unlawfully, local authority trading standards officers are responsible for enforcement of these duties.
For more information on the Home Report then you can visit www.homerportscotland.gov.uk
Audio Features
Listen again to our on air features for this Life Matters article. Click on the 'play' link next to one of the titles to play that item.
PLAY > Home Report 1
PLAY > Home Report 2
PLAY > Home Report 3
PLAY > Home Report 4
PLAY > Home Report 5
PLAY > Home Report 6
Comments
Is there any idea of how much this Report is going to cost? In the present financial climate, people who may have to sell their house as they can't afford repayments and could possibly be in negative equity may not be able to afford this probably large extra cost. What happens then?A.S.P.