Enforcement and Complaints

The Housing Act 2004 and the Home Information Pack [Redress Scheme] Order 2007 make it a requirement that all estate agents in England and Wales, who act for sellers of residential properties which require a HIP, must be members of an independent redress scheme. On 1 March 2007, the Department for Trade and Industry [DTI] announced the appointment of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents [OEA] to operate a HIPs Redress Scheme. Peter Alan Limited is a member of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents Scheme and the HIPs Redress Scheme.

The HIP duties will be enforced by local authority Trading Standards Officers. Whilst in the main they may operate by providing advice to sellers and agents, they can issue warnings and are also authorised to issue Fixed Penalty Notices. Currently, the fixed penalty has been set at £200 and multiple penalties can be imposed for repeated breaches of the rules. If an agent markets a property without a HIP, they will be liable to a Fixed Penalty Notice. Until the end of the year (2007), people will be allowed to market their properties as soon as they have commissioned a pack - rather than having to wait until they have received a pack.