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

I declare my interest as an owner of housing property in Scotland. The Minister will be aware that here in Westminster my party has opposed large parts of similar legislation. However, such legislation now exists in Scotland and was passed by the Scottish Parliament, so it is important that this measure has come before both Houses of this Parliament. If there is to be any right to damages occasioned by it, it is necessary that they can be pursued wherever the various parties find themselves within the UK, without any border demarcation. Consumer protection is a UK issue, and that is very proper. This is bound to be a tricky area; one tries to think how a claim like this will be triggered. It will probably be mainly as a result of discovering some defect in the property, such as dry rot or something like that. It might equally be when the purchaser is quickly remarketing the property and finds that he is liable to make a big loss on the resale. It could be argued that that is part of the market mechanism, but he is very likely to try to raise a claim. Surveyors will mainly have to act as if they were acting on behalf of the buyer, and they may get limited co-operation from the vendor. The inspection will tend to be fairly rigorous, and the costs will all have to be met by the vendor. The only other aspect that is slightly worrying, with the market in its present state, is that this may cause a weakening of the housing market in Scotland. I do not know if the Government have any views on the effect that this small measure may have.