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Housing and Regeneration Bill

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point. I agree that it would be undesirable if a landlord or tenant challenged the agreed price of the property after completion or if a district valuer could decide on his own initiative to review the valuation after completion. Once a property has been sold, that should be that. I hope that the hon. Gentleman agrees that flawed valuations are unfair. If they are too high, the tenant needs an unnecessarily high mortgage—we have been discussing credit crunch and restrictions on mortgages this afternoon—or may be unable to afford to buy. Valuations that are too low mean that the landlord and the taxpayer receive a lower receipt than is justified. In response to the hon. Gentleman, I suggest that clause 290 aims to ensure that such issues can be resolved flexibly. The Government amendments are designed to ensure that the district valuer has the necessary information to enable that to happen as expeditiously as possible. I therefore hope that hon. Members will accept Government amendments Nos. 40 to 43 and that the hon. Gentleman will not press amendments Nos. 14 and 15, on the basis that our amendments achieve what he wants.