Coalition slams Home Information Packs
Published On 16 March 2007
A coalition of leading organisations within the property industry has condemned the government for its refusal to enter into dialogue on Home Information Packs (Hips).The packs, which will become mandatory from June 1st, have been hugely controversial from the outset and a number of groups have expressed concerns that the property market will suffer.
In a letter to housing minister Yvette Cooper, the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA), the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) and the Law Society called for a meeting to discuss their reservations.
When a meeting was refused, a second letter was sent to communities minister Ruth Kelly, the prime minister and the chancellor, outlining again the chief concerns surrounding "this seriously flawed and extremely rushed piece of legislation".
The government argues that Hips will add transparency to the market, cutting down on the number of property transactions that collapse. Presently, a quarter of all house purchases fail before contracts are exchanged, wasting as much as £1 million every day.
While the NAEA supports attempts to improve the existing system, president Charles Smailes believes that greater care is needed to ensure the next system is effective.
"It is clear that there is considerably more work to be done if Hips are to be a workable solution and there is simply not enough time for the issues to be resolved before June 1st. In their current format, Hips will prove to be ineffective and vastly impractical," he said.
A separate letter sent to the government by the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) has offered reassurance that the industry is ready to deliver Hips "effectively and efficiently". AHIPP argues that it is "frankly absurd" to suggest that sellers will be deterred from marketing their properties as a result of the introduction of Hips.
