Vote Bundle Text (910123-02)

Amendments proposed to the Homes Bill - continued	House of Commons

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Mr Nick Raynsford

Clause 11, page 8, line 17, at end insert—

'(6) A person who is guilty of an offence under this Part by virtue of subsection (1), (2) or (5) may be proceeded against and punished whether or not proceedings are also taken against the employer, body corporate or partnership in question.'.

Mr Don Foster
Mr Tom Brake

Clause 13, page 8, line 36, leave out subsection (3) and insert—

'( ) A statutory instrument which contains regulations under this part is not to be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before and approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.'.

Mr Archie Norman
Mr Nigel Waterson
Mr Tim Loughton
Mr David Curry
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

Clause 14, page 8, line 41, leave out subsection (2) and insert—

'( ) Only a person who in the course of a business is engaged in estate agency work and who has a place of business in England and Wales may be regarded as acting as estate agent for the seller.

( ) The Secretary of State shall by regulations made by statutory instrument make provision for ensuring that persons engaged in estate agency work satisfy minimum standards of competence.'.

Mr Archie Norman
Mr Nigel Waterson
Mr Tim Loughton
Mr David Curry
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

Clause 14, page 8, line 41, leave out from 'Only' to 'a' and insert 'a person who in the course of a business is engaged in estate agency work and who has'.

Mr Archie Norman
Mr Nigel Waterson
Mr Tim Loughton
Mr David Curry
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

Clause 15, page 9, line 18, at end insert '"estate agency work" has the meaning given by section 1(1) of the Estate Agents Act 1979;'.

NEW CLAUSES RELATING TO PART I

Agreement between vendor and purchaser

Mr Don Foster
Mr Tom Brake
Mr Bowen Wells

NC1

To move the following Clause:—

'.—(1) This section and sections (Proof of ability to pay sale price) and (Withdrawal from contract, etc.) apply to an agreement between a vendor and a purchaser for the sale of a property for a price greater than £2,000.

(2) Such an agreement shall constitute a contract, which shall be binding on both parties.

(3) Where such a contract is made the vendor and purchaser shall each pay to the other party or to the agent of the other party a sum which shall not be less than £2,000.

(4) The vendor and the purchaser shall agree a date for the completion of the contract.

(5) The Secretary of State may make regulations varying the sums in subsections (1) and (3).'.

Proof of ability to pay sale price

Mr Don Foster
Mr Tom Brake
Mr Bowen Wells

NC2

To move the following Clause:—

'.—(1) No person shall enter into an agreement to purchase a property without proof of his ability to pay the agreed sale price.

(2) A person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine of £700 in addition to forfeiting any sum paid under section 1(3).

(3) The Secretary of State may make regulations varying the sum in subsection (2).'.

Withdrawal from contract, etc.

Mr Don Foster
Mr Tom Brake
Mr Bowen Wells

NC3

To move the following Clause:—

'.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), if one of the parties to a contract—

(a) withdraws from the contract; or

(b) otherwise frustrates or fails to complete the contract by the agreed date he shall forfeit any sum paid under section 1(3) and shall be liable for any costs in excess of that sum incurred by the other party in consequence of the contract.

(2) But subsection (1) does not apply where a purchaser has reasonable grounds for withdrawing from a contract.

(3) "Reasonable grounds" shall include but shall not be limited to—

(a) the discovery of a structural or other defect in the property which was not known to the purchaser at the time of the agreement;

(b) the discovery of a development proposal or other factor having a direct effect on the value of the property which was not known to the purchaser at the time of the agreement.'.

Energy efficiency report: transitional provision

Mr Don Foster
Mr Tom Brake
Mr Alan Simpson
Christine Butler
Mr David Chaytor
Mr Gwyn Prosser

Mr Derek Wyatt Frank Cook Mr Andrew Mackinlay

Laura Moffatt

NC4

To move the following Clause:—

'.The Secretary of State may by regulations bring Schedule (Energy Efficiency reports) into effect for a period of time set by those regulations if in his judgement this would assist or provide information relevant to the marketing of residential properties in England or Wales.'.

Procedure on a review

Mr Don Foster
Mr Tom Brake

NC5

To move the following Clause:—

'.—(1) The Secretary of State may make provision by regulations as to the procedure to be followed in connection with a review under section 16 and nothing in the following provisions affects the generality of this power.

(2) Provision may be made by regulations—

(a) requiring the decision on review to be made by a person of appropriate seniority who was not involved in the original decision, and

(b) as to the circumstances in which the person conerned is entitled to an oral hearing, and whether and by whom he may be represented at such a hearing.

(3) The authority shall notify the person concerned of the decision on the review.

(4) If the decision is to confirm the original decision, they shall also notify him of the reasons for the decision.

(5) Provision may be made by regulations as to the period within which the review must be carried out and notice given of the decision.

(6) Notice required to be given to a person under this section shall be given in writing and, if not received by him, shall be treated as having been given if it is made available at the authority's office for a reasonable period for collection by him.'.

Right of appeal to county court on point of law

Mr Don Foster
Mr Tom Brake

NC6

To move the following Clause:—

'.—(1) Section 204 (right of appeal to county court on point of law) of the 1996 Act is amended as follows.

(2) In subsection (2), at the end there is inserted "or such longer period as the authority and the applicant may agree or as the court may allow."

(3) In subsection (4)—

(a) for "may" there is substituted "shall"

(b) at the end there is inserted—

"If the local authority is satisfied that the applicant has no reasonable prospects of success in an appeal under this section, it shall notify the applicant accordingly. In any such case, the applicant may apply to the court to require the authority to secure that accommodation is available in accordance with the provisions of this section.".'.

NEW SCHEDULE RELATING TO PART I

Mr Don Foster
Mr Tom Brake
Mr Nigel Waterson
Mr Tim Loughton
Mr Archie Norman
Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

Mr Derek Wyatt Frank Cook Mr Andrew Mackinlay

Laura Moffatt

NS1

To move the following Schedule:—

'Energy Efficiency Reports

'1.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, it shall be the duty of any person in whose favour a mortgage of any legal estate in a dwelling is granted (in this Schedule referred to as "the lender") to ensure that, if any qualifying survey of the dwelling has been undertaken by him or on his behalf in connection with that mortgage—

(a) a report on the energy efficiency of the dwelling (in this Schedule referred to as "an energy efficiency report") has been prepared by or on behalf of the lender in accordance with regulations under paragraph 5 on the basis of the physical inspection undertaken for the purpose of the qualifying survey, and

(b) the person granting the mortgage (in this Schedule referred to as "the borrower") has been provided, before the grant of the mortgage, with a copy of the energy efficiency report.

(2) No duty arises under sub-paragraph (1) unless—

(a) the mortgage relates only

(i) to a single dwelling, or

(ii) to a single dwelling together with premises occupied or intended to be occupied for business purposes,

(b) the loan to which the mortgage relates was made in pursuance of an application made to the lender by the borrower, and

(3) The lender may, in fixing the amount of any fee to be charged for a qualifying survey, taken into account any additional costs reasonably incurred in preparing the energy efficiency report, but the duty in sub-paragraph (1) arises whether or not the borrower has paid, or agreed to pay, any such additional costs.

(4) In sub-paragraph (1) a "qualifying survey", in relation to a dwelling, means any survey or valuation which includes a physical inspection of both the exterior and the interior of the dwelling.

2. The duty in paragraph 1 does not arise in relation to any dwelling which was provided (by construction or conversion) less than three years before the date on which the borrower applied for the loan to which the mortgage relates.

3. The duty in paragraph 1 does not arise where, before the grant of the mortgage, the borrower has obtained, or been given a copy of, a report which—

(a) relates to the dwelling,

(b) complies with regulations under paragraph 5, and

(c) was prepared less than twelve months before the date on which the borrower applied for the loan to which the mortgage relates.

4.—(1) The duty in paragraph 1 does not arise where—

(a) the lender is a member of the borrower's family and is not lending in the course of a business carried on by the lender, or

(b) the lenders are the trustees of a trust created by an individual for the benefit of members of his family and their descendants.

(2) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (1) a person is a member of another's family if—

(a) he is the spouse of that person, or he and that person live together as husband and wife, or

(b) he is that person's parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.

(3) For the purposes of sub-paragraph (2)(b)—

(a) a relationship by marriage shall be treated as a relationship by blood,

(b) a relationship of the half-blood shall be treated as a relationship of the whole blood, and

5.—(1) The Secretary of State shall make regulations specifying the requirements which must be met by the lender in relation to the preparation of an energy efficiency report.

(2) The regulations may, in particular, require a report to include—

(a) information as to the presence or absence in the dwelling of specified measures for improving energy efficiency, and

(b) a statement recommending measures which could be taken for the purpose of improving energy efficiency.

(3) Regulations under this paragraph may make different provision for different cases and different areas.

(4) Regulations under this paragraph may not require an energy efficiency report to contain any information in respect of the dwelling which is not readily ascertainable on a visual inspection of so much of the exterior and interior of the dwelling as is accessible without undue difficulty to the person undertaking the inspection.

(5) Regulations under this paragraph may not require an energy efficiency report in respect of a flat to contain information about the common parts of the building in which the flat is situated.

(6) Before making regulations under this paragraph, the Secretary of State shall consult—

(a) such mortgage lenders or persons appearing to him to represent mortgage lenders as he considers appropriate, and

(b) such other persons as he considers appropriate.

(7) In making regulations under this paragraph, the Secretary of State shall have regard to the cost of preparing an energy efficiency report.

(8) Regulations under this paragraph shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

(9) In this paragraph—

"common parts", in relation to a building, includes the structure and exterior of the building and common facilities provided, whether in the building or elsewhere, for persons who include the occupiers of one or more flats in the building;

"flat" means a dwelling which is a separate set of premises, whether or not on the same floor, divided horizontally from some other part of the building;

"mortgage lender" means a person who, in the course of a business, lends money secured by mortgages of dwellings.

6.—(1) If the borrower suffers loss by reason of the failure of the lender to comply with his duty under paragraph 1, the borrower is entitled to compensation for that loss from the lender.

(2) In determining for the purposes of this paragraph whether the borrower has suffered loss as mentioned in sub-paragraph (1) and, if so, the amount of that loss, a court—

(a) shall assume that the borrower would have taken every measure that would have been recommended in a report complying with paragraph 5,

(b) shall have regard to the cost that would be likely to have been incurred in taking those measures if they had been taken immediately after the grant of the mortgage,

(d) shall calculate the savings that would have been made during the relevant period if the measures had been taken.

(3) In sub-paragraph (2) "the relevant period" means the period beginning with the day on which the mortgage was granted and ending immediately before the sixth anniversary of that day or, if earlier—

(a) in relation to any measure falling within sub-paragraph (2)(a) which has in fact been taken by the borrower, with the day on which the taking of the measure is completed,

(b) in a case where the lender provides the borrower with, or with a copy of, an energy efficiency report complying with paragraph 5 prepared not less than 12 months before the day on which it is provided, that day,

(d) the death of the borrower, or

(e) the day on which any proceedings under this paragraph are first determined by a court or by the award of an arbitrator.

7. In this Schedule—

"the borrower" and "the lender" shall be construed in accordance with paragraph 1;

"dwelling" means a building or part of a building occupied or intended to be occupied as a separate dwelling, together with any yard, garden, outhouses or appurtenances belonging to it or usually enjoyed with it, but does not include a mobile home;

"energy efficiency report" shall be construed in accordance with paragraph 1;

"mobile home" means a caravan within the meaning of Part I of the Caravan Sites and Control of Development Act 1960 (disregarding the amendment made by section 13(2) of the Caravan Sites Act 1968);

"mortgage" means any mortgage or other charge on property for securing money or money's worth which is made by deed.

8.—(1) Paragraph 5 and this paragraph shall come into force on the day on which regulations made under section 7( ) take effect.

(2) The remaining provisions of this Schedule shall come into force on such day or days as the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument appoint, and different days may be appointed for different purposes or different areas.

(3) The power to make an order under sub-paragraph (2) includes power to make such transitional provisions and savings as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.

(4) The Secretary of State shall consult the National Assembly for Wales before making any regulations under this schedule which relate to Wales.

(5) This schedule extends to England and Wales only.'.