Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2008

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2008. The noble Lord said: The order was laid before the House on 9 June. It is made under Section 104 of the Scotland Act, which allows for necessary or expedient changes to UK legislation in consequence of an Act of the Scottish Parliament. This order is made in consequence of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. The purpose of that Act is to address concerns about the condition and quality of private sector housing in Scotland. It implements the recommendations of the Housing Improvement Task Force established by the Scottish Executive in 2001 to look at factors that impeded improvements to housing stock. The task force noted the £5 billion worth of disrepair in Scotland’s privately owned housing and made over 150 recommendations after two years of research. These included the need to improve the information available to home buyers on the condition of properties. The 2006 Act gives Scottish Ministers the power to require sellers to provide specified information to prospective buyers. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Prescribed Documents) Regulations 2008 were passed by the Scottish Parliament on 7 February 2008 and will come into force on 1 October 2008. These regulations make provisions within devolved competence to specify the documents that a seller or a selling agent must possess and provide in response to a request from potential buyers. Together these documents are called the home report. Currently most purchasers in Scotland rely on a scheme 1 mortgage valuation report that contains relatively little information about the condition of the property. The purpose of the home report is to improve the information available to purchasers and improve the quality of housing stock. For houses put on the market after 1 December 2008, the home report will provide information about the condition, energy efficiency and value of the property at the start of the buying and selling process. For the first time, all sellers will have this information before proceeding with marketing and all prospective buyers will have it before deciding whether and how much to offer. At the core of the home report is a survey and valuation prepared by a qualified surveyor who is registered with or authorised to practise by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Any other providers approved in the future will have to reach equivalent standards. The survey will be commissioned by the seller and made available to all potential purchasers. It is clearly important that buyers should be able to rely on the survey provided in the home report. That means making provision to ensure that a surveyor has a liability towards a buyer in the same way as at present a surveyor has a liability towards a seller. This Section 104 order is expedient as the Scotland Act lists consumer protection as a matter reserved to this Parliament, so it is beyond the competence of the Scottish Parliament to make provisions of this nature. Therefore Article 3 of this order establishes the liability of a surveyor towards a buyer. If the buyer’s claim is successful, the courts will determine the amount of damages in the usual way. The Scottish Executive conducted a lengthy consultation on the home report and the majority of respondents have welcomed its introduction. The Scottish Consumer Council has said that the changes which the home report will make, "““are in the interest of buyers and sellers and what consumers want””." The consumer organisation Which? has said that, "““the Home Report will have an immediate benefit to first-time buyers who often have to spend hundreds in order to find out whether they can, or indeed should, buy a home””." The home report has also been welcomed by the Energy Saving Trust and Friends of the Earth Scotland. The Scottish Executive have received constructive feedback on the terms of the home report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. We also understand that the Law Society of Scotland has plans to become a provider of a Law Society of Scotland-branded home report. The order also amends the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 to reflect the fact that the 2006 Act changes the name of the rent assessment committees to ““private rented housing committees””. Members of the former body were already excluded from sitting in the House of Commons and the order will make modifications to reflect the change of name and ensure that members of the renamed body will also be disqualified. The order demonstrates the Government’s commitment to working with the Scottish Executive to make the devolution settlement work. I hope that the Committee will agree that the order is a sensible use of the powers in the Scotland Act and that the practical result is something to be welcomed. Accordingly, I commend it to the Committee. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Consequential Provisions) Order 2008. 22nd report from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments.—(Lord Davies of Oldham.)