HIPs not fit for purpose

Home Information Packs, which were finally launched in October 2007 after a series of problems and delays, were initially meant to speed up the buying/selling process.  Since their introduction many industry experts see them as a necessary evil.

Recent calls for changes in the packs have been getting louder and stronger, but this is the first joint concerted attack from the NAEA and RICS.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of NAEA, has been vocal in his opinion of HIPs and continues:  "With the economic situation worsening and the property market still suffering, we are calling on the goverment to take urgent action on HIPs. 

"We have long seen HIPs as not fit for purpose and as the wrong answer to simplifying the house buying process.  Quite simply, the government tried to force square pegs into round holes and the slower property market is making this situation worse. 

"For instance, the current call for local searches to be conducted as part of a HIP is madness.  Due to the length of time properties are on the market in the current climate, a majority of searches are now out of date by the time the property is sold, which means they have to be repeated at extra cost to the consumer."

This argument is echoed by Gillian Charlesworth, director of external affairs at RICS who says:  "Consumers are paying for searches twice, because in the current slow market, legal searches are often out of date by the time a sale is agreed.

"These legal documents must be taken out of the packs and left to buyers and their advisers to obtain at the appropriate time during the transaction."

The NAEA would like to see a slimmed down version of the original HIP containing just a sellers' questionnaire, an Energy Performance Certificate and the Land Registry title and plan.

Grant Shapps MP, shadow housing minister, agrees that action is needed:  "Independent analysis has repeatedly shown that HIPs provide no benefit to a struggling housing market.  They hamper, not help, just adding another layer of bureaucracy and another extra cost."