Legal Requirements
You could face a penalty notice of £200 if you do not comply with the Home Information Pack regulations. The duties imposed by the regulations will be enforced by local authority Trading Standards Officers under a civil sanctions regime.
They will usually provide advice and warnings in the first instance but will have the power to issue penalty notices where they believe it is appropriate.
Trading Standards Officers must also notify also the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) when a penalty charge notice is issued to an estate agent and this could result in a banning order for the agent in question.
On 31 July 2007 OFT advised all estate agents in England and Wales that a failure to comply with the new HIPs Regulations could result in a ban from estate agency work. Read the full press release - OFT advises estate agents on their obligations on the OFT website.
