Keywords
Citation
(2006), "Access to local authority held property information", Structural Survey, Vol. 24 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2006.11024aab.005
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Access to local authority held property information
Access to local authority held property information
Keywords: Property, Searches
The Office of Fair Trading has published a study saying that property information held by local authorities in England and Wales should be made more easily available to people buying and selling property and their agents. The study shows that there is a wide variation in the price that is being paid for property searches with a range of £55 to £269 and it is likely that some consumers are paying too much. Local authorities also often restrict access for third parties to the information they hold. The OFT recommends that this information should be available on non-discriminatory terms that do not give an advantage to their own property search activities over competing providers. One of the main reasons the OFT has decided to act now is the introduction of home information packs in 2007.