The Conservative party today increased the pressure on the government to reconsider its plans for home information packs
Speaking ahead of today’s debate in the House of Commons, shadow housing minister Michael Gove warned that the new regulations would increase the cost of moving and discourage potential sellers.
Under the government plans, all those who wish to sell their homes after 1 June must pay for a government-sponsored inspector to enter their home and produce a home information pack. Failure to do so could result in a £200 fine.
Gove said: ‘Home information packs will be the biggest, jarring intervention in the housing market since Nigel Lawson abolished mortgage interest tax relief. History teaches us that you play politics with people's homes at your peril. But that is just what Labour ministers are doing.’
He added: ‘The housing market has already been hit by a double whammy under Gordon Brown. A massive increase in property taxes and steep rises in mortgage payments have only made homes more unaffordable.
‘And now, at this nervous time in the market, Labour are introducing a measure which creates the risk of unnecessary turbulence.
‘Moving home is one of the most stressful things anyone can do. Yet Labour’s new red tape threatens to make it worse, not better.
‘Rather than protecting consumers, these new regulations will increase the cost of moving and threaten to undermine the stability of the housing market.’
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