ISSUE 9/07

Home Information Packs (HIPs)

Confusion and controversy still surround the future of Home Information Packs (HIPs), scheduled for introduction in June 2007.

Six months ago the government scrapped a central feature of the packs, a pre-sale survey called a Home Condition Report (HCR).

As a result some supporters of HIPs have become openly critical. For example, the Consumers' Association has withdrawn support saying without the HCRs, HIPs are worthless.

Meanwhile long-standing critics of HIPs remain opposed to their introduction, even though the packs will now consist only of legal documents, local council searches and Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) assessing the eco-friendly nature of the home on sale. A poll of members of the National Association of Estate Agents has shown 93% wanting the packs scrapped.

There is also confusion about exactly how HIPs are going to work. Although a company has now been nominated to set up a database on which HIPs information will be logged, there are still many potential problems yet to be ironed out.

A certification scheme to manage the registration of Home Inspectors and Energy Assessors is still being debated, and an operating standard for energy assessors is not anticipated to be in place until February 2007. There is also continuing discussion on what form of redress scheme will exist to handle consumer complaints.

Six regional trials of HIPs are now taking place in parts of Newcastle upon Tyne, Northampton, Huddersfield, Southampton, Bath and Cambridge with more trial areas expected to be announced in early 2007. But questions have been raised about the usefulness of the trials because local sellers are not obliged to participate, and because many components of the pack including the EPC cannot yet be included.

Despite this, it appears that both the government and the Association of Home Information Pack Providers remain publicly committed to the 1 June start date for the implementation of HIPs across England and Wales.

Many feel that more changes may be required if there is an insufficient number of inspectors of the right type in place soon, or if the current trials show that the packs’ impact on improving the conveyancing process is marginal.

Article by Graham Norwood