The committee added that it was astounded by the number of penalty charge notices which were issued but later cancelled. In 2003, this amounted to 20 per cent of the 7.1 million notices issued, a far too high a proportion which indicated that the system was malfunctioning, MPs said. The report said lines and signage to indicate the parking rules were often unclear and that many drivers had difficulty understanding and complying with the law. She added that parking enforcement contracts with incentive regimes based on the number of tickets issued were “utterly misguided”.

It is “absurd” that some parking offenders are dealt with by police and others in neighbouring areas dealt with by local councils, the report from the House of Commons Transport Committee added.
“Our present parking system is, frankly, a mess”, said the committee’s chairman Gwyneth Dunwoody (Lab: Crewe and Nantwich). Parking policy and enforcement in Britain is “inconsistent and confused”, a report from MPs said today. “The novice buyer may wrongly assume that they have to go for the agent’s deal and not realise they have a choice and can get access to every mortgage on the market,” cautions Melanie Bien, of broker Savills Private Finance.. First-time buyers especially might not realise the importance of shopping around for deals, and might come under undue pressure from agents to see the linked adviser. They could, for example, put indicative mortgage quotes from a linked broker in the pack. Are there other worries? One serious concern among mortgage brokers is that estate agents will use the sellers’ packs to promote their own mortgage services.

Home condition reports are unlikely to make much difference to costs of full structural surveys, which start at £500 and vary with the property’s size and age. Buyers of larger or older homes might prefer to spend this on a report from a specialist surveyor, rather than relying just on the home condition report. This cost could fall if lenders are willing to accept the home condition report for much of the information they need, and can use an automatic, online valuation. But this will only be partially true if lenders refuse to accept the home condition reports, as buyers will still have to pay valuation fees, starting from around £200. What about costs? The Government maintains that the HIP will mostly transfer costs from buyers to sellers, rather than create new costs. Other lenders will insist on a physical valuation, with buyers paying.

If a lender does not accept the home condition report and insists on a physical valuation, there will be further delays for both sides while this is organised. The reports will not include a valuation – vital for a mortgage. Some lenders may carry out low-cost valuations using computerised systems, but buyers will still have to pay for these. This should save time, and for buyers, save wasted fees carrying out surveys and other searches on properties where the sale falls through. So why are the packs controversial? The home condition reports, which are a compulsory part of the packs, are carried out by the seller, not the buyer, and buyers may be reluctant to trust them. Sellers will bear the cost, although some may well add this to asking prices, especially where demand for properties is strong. Other sellers might make “no-sale, no-fee” arrangements with their estate agents, whereby they pay for the pack out of their sales proceeds.

For sellers who are also buyers, the cost of the HIP should be offset by lower buying costs. Local authority and title searches will be included in the HIP, for example. First-time buyers, in particular, should benefit from lower fees. But if buyers or lenders refuse to accept the home condition reports in place of a survey, much of the benefits of HIPs will be lost. What is in the Home Information Pack? The main elements are local authority searches, information on a property’s title and, if leasehold, its lease and service charges; planning, listed building or building regulations consents, and a home condition report. Sellers will have to produce the packs before they put their properties on the market, or face a fine. Buyers should be able to inspect the packs before making an offer.