21
Jan
Government moves to speed up property searches
The government has unveiled a series of reforms to property
searches in a bid to speed up the process and make it more
affordable.
Under the terms of the new regulations, local authorities and
private search companies will be compelled to work more closely
together to improve the standard of the searches.
Currently, the time frame within which local authorities provide
the information to private search companies stands at up to two
weeks.
However, the reforms aim to cut this time to one working day.
Junior housing minister Iain Wright, said: "Homebuying and selling
can be a stressful experience and we are committed to improving the
system for people.
"By levelling the playing field for providers consumers will be
able to get important property information earlier in the home
buying process and see the costs coming down as a result."
The information should also reduce the likelihood of gaps in the
data –one result of which had been that providers had to take
out insurance.
Plugging these gaps and removing the need for insurance, providers
will it is hoped in turn be bale to give their customers a better
standard of service.
A property search currently costs between £40 and
£280.
