Whatever the outcome, it’s increasingly clear that the country is setting its own positive agenda in relation to housing policy and related activity. A growing divergence from practice in the rest of the UK now seems inevitable.
Aside from creating challenges for any stakeholders in both markets, I see this as no bad thing. Thus far, Scotland’s ability to consider and implement policy in a relatively short timescale has put Westminster to shame and some bold ‘experiments’ have been allowed to play out as a consequence.
For example, Scotland pressed ahead with the Home Report concept (including a condition report available to purchasers), whilst Westminster fatally weakened the equivalent HIP in England & Wales even before it launched – and then subsequently canned the whole thing anyway.
At the recent CML Scotland Conference, spurred by a Scottish Government consultation programme, the director of Shelter Scotland made a well-reasoned argument for ceasing the Right to Buy programme north of the border, whilst in London, the appetite remains to encourage further participation from RTB tenants, despite them representing a disproportionate number of subsequent repossessions.
If I was to identify one area that undermines Scotland’s credentials as an example of ‘best practice’, it remains the over reliance by certain professions on local connections and effective ‘closed shops’ that arguably keep service prices high and competition away. Both from personal experience and from anecdotal comments, ‘cartel’ behaviour remains embedded in some aspects of the house buying process.
Evidently, supplier choices can sometimes be made on the basis of who will pay the largest referral fee, rather than on considerations of quality and robustness of business. Ultimately I would argue that the consumer must be losing out as a consequence.
Lenders and the Scottish Government have the opportunity to steer behaviour towards a more open and transparent operating model if they have the appetite to challenge long held positions.
More ‘real’ free choice and competition will contribute positively to the goal of an economically strong Scotland, and as one Mr W Wallace is alleged to have said. ‘Freedom is best, of all things to be won’!
Richard Sexton is director of business development at e.surv
