The last eleven years we have been exchanging houses under a Labour government. The consequences of their legal modifications with regards to Stamp Duty Land Tax & the development of Home Information Packs have unquestionably had a visible impact on the UK housing market place and house prices in general.

We find ourselves in a new era and we’ll all have to get accustomed to home selling under a Lib Dem / Conservative coalition.. Undoubtedly we will go though a transitional period of uncertainly as we wait and see what changes are made upon the panorama of the present house selling procedure. So, how will selling a home differ under the Conservatives and Lib Dems?

The immediate answer is, no difference at all, at the least not straight away. Thinking of the future it’s a different story. It’s certainly not straightforward, in fact it is nigh on impossible to predict the actions of any government, but a merger involving the right and the left is a problem all of us own.

Luckily, or unluckily, the housing sector seems to be one area that the two are particularly close on. Already they have shown their desire and ability to speak with one voice, by announcing that the Home Information Pack would be abolished under their government.

So a fundamental house selling requirement is going to be stripped away from the equation (a good thing I believe because it should entice more vendors in to the market place).  The latest information we have is that HiPs should be a thing of the past (along with the businesses that offered them) as soon as the beginning of June. Home Information Packs will be scrapped but EPC’s will remain (nevertheless, the price of an EPC will undoubtedly rise considerably from the present £50-£70 cost range ).

There exists one other nugget of housing legislation that is rumored to be replaced imminently. A source close to the Conservative Party’s housing team has stated that the government is preparing to put forward legislation to help make it a lot easier for people in social housing to relocate around the country.

According to the source, the bill would include making it compulsory for social housing landlords to hold a portion of their housing empty for individuals needing to transfer from somewhere else in the united kingdom. The source said that they’re considering getting the legislation announced within the Queen’s speech.

Outsiders looking in may speculate that this is to help the economy, skilled workers and tradesmen etc will be able to move to where the work is. Teachers will be able to move to where they are most needed for example. Surely a good thing?

This is especially probable because it is apparently coming from the Conservative camp, whereas the Lib Dems would likely pass it because they are aware of the social advantages of the bill. For instance, a more sceptical person can look at it as the Conservatives seeking to bring cheap labour in to areas where it is needed by big business.

Whatever the reason, this is all we have to go on, in order to look into the minds of our new government and determine what home selling under it will be like, in 6 months, a year and beyond.

We can really only tell what we already knew: the Conservatives — like any government — will seek to do right by its core supporters. In the Conservatives case, this has always been the wealthy and upper class elements of society.

So, we may see things like stamp duty being brought back down on higher value properties (Labour increased stamp duty to 5% on properties over 1 million in value).

On the other hand, David Cameron is New Conservative (sounds familiar doesn’t it?) and we have the Liberal Democrat angle to consider. So, I will end it as I started, there is no way of knowing or even guessing what it will be like to sell & buy property under the new government, one thing is certain though, Home Information Packs are dead ducks and good riddance I say. Viva la revolution!

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