Government waters down house packs plans

18th July 2007

The Government has backed down over its plans to introduce the compulsory use of Home Information Packs (HIPs) when home owners put their properties up for sale in England and Wales.

Earlier today, the Housing Minister, Yvette Cooper, announced that she wouldn’t require the HIPs – which come into effect next June – to include a Home Condition Report – that’s a survey by any other name.

That’s prompted many involved with the housing market to ask why she’s bothering with HIPs at all – as supplying information about the state of your house upfront to a prospective buyer is the central part of the new system. The Government has long claimed that this would be the answer to gazumping, broken chains and buyers losing money, while speeding up sales and mortgage offers.

Yvette Cooper said industry feedback and the lack of testing on Home Condition Reports had all contributed to the Government’s sudden change of heart. She said that results from the dry run of HIPs that’s been going on in parts of the country had shown there’d be “potential disadvantages to consumers from a mandatory “big bang” introduction of full Home Condition Reports on 1 June 2007.”  She added there were concerns about the number of inspectors that would be trained up ready to carry out inspections and compile these reports next summer.

Analysts say the Government appears to be caving into pressure from estate agents and other parties involved in the industry, who’ve lobbied against the idea. Trevor Kent, who’s a former president of the National Association of Estate Agents, said that even this watered-down version of the HIP would be both “expensive and unnecessary”. He called on Yvette Cooper to “drop the whole concept before any more millions of tax-payers money are wasted”.

But many involved in the house-selling industry are disappointed; not least the estate agents, surveyors, solicitors and IT companies who’ve got together to form the Association of HIP Providers. Their spokesman, Paul Broadhurst, said the decision to delay the compulsory surveys was “disappointing – wholly unnecessary”.

The Government’s denied that it’s done a U-turn here. A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said making Home Condition Reports compulsory was still an option. He said: “The first stage is to see how they work on the ground. This is not a U-turn. We are bringing the in on a phased basis.”