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Law
Society fear for homeowners after rogue HIPs emerge
THE Law
Society is warning home sellers and buyers to be vigilant with Home
Information Packs (HIPs) after the government raised the alarm that
some rogue HIP providers are putting the wrong documents in the
packs.
Communities and Local Government (CLG) have expressed concern that
some HIP providers were using ‘Register Views’ – photocopies
of Land Register records, as evidence of title. CLG point out the
HIPs Regulations 2007 require the inclusion of an ‘official copy’
from the Land Registry of the individual register and title plan and
that Register Views were insufficient.
Law Society Vice-President, Paul Marsh, says:- “This is
further proof that some HIPs providers do not understand, or choose
not to understand, the regulations.
The result is that sellers and
buyers are being short-changed with sub-standard HIPs that will be
quite rightly thrown in the dustbin by the buyer’s solicitor.
If you are selling up, choose a solicitor to compile your HIP.
Solicitors understand the regulations and can therefore ensure the
HIP meets the required standard.”
The Law Society point out that evidence of title is one of the
compulsory documents required in a HIP. Copies of the official
documents are available from the Land Registry. If there are errors
in the register the Land Registry will take responsibility for it.
Register Views do not provide such a safety net for consumers.
Paul Marsh says:- “Buyers as well as sellers need to make sure
the property’s HIP contains the correct documents.
If it later
emerges that there was an error and the property’s HIP contains
nothing more than a Register View, there is no recompense available
from the Land Registry.” |
NATIONWIDE TACKLES FLEET ‘GREY’
AREA
NATIONWIDE
Autocentres, the leading chain of independent car servicing and MOT
test centres, has launched a 19 point ‘Duty of Care’
inspection service ahead of the new Corporate Manslaughter Act due
to come into effect in April 2008. Alarmingly, a recent study
found that 60% of privately owned vehicles that are used for company
business were not safe to be on the road. In addition, 52% of
companies have no policy to check the insurance details of these
vehicles, which have now been labelled as the “Grey” fleet.
Companies that fail to implement a Duty of Care process to ensure
Grey fleet vehicles are fit for purpose could be liable for
prosecution should a Grey vehicle be involved in a fatal road
traffic accident. Nationwide Autocentres’ new ‘Duty of Care’
19 point inspection has been launched in response to this and the
fully documented process includes inspection of brakes, steering,
shock absorbers and wheel cylinders.
Commenting on the new service, Jason Gill, Fleet Development Manager
at Nationwide Autocentres said:- “The Department of Transport
estimates that up to a third of road traffic accidents involve
somebody who is working at the time. That equates to about 20
fatalities and 250 serious injuries every week. The impending new
legislation means that companies which operate Grey fleet vehicles,
need to become more diligent and our Duty of Care inspection package
can help with this.
We have a network in excess of 200 centres across the UK which means
we can work with companies on a local or national basis and can help
them to develop a bespoke programme that best suits their needs.
Because we own the centres, it also means we can standardise the
process and ensure consistency and quality throughout. Taking a
proactive approach to risk management in this way could help
companies reduce their accident rate and ultimately their insurance
premiums.
We make it easy and cost effective for companies to have checks made
and documented in a way that is extremely convenient for drivers” |
