Zoopla.co.uk Blog

HIPS SUSPENDED WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT

May 20, 2010 at 9:24 AM Lawrence Hall 1 comment

Following on from the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats releasing their ‘Coalition Agreement’ document on 12th May which confirmed, under the Environment section (pt 6), that “Home Information Packs (HIPs) are to be scrapped and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) retained” mass confusion set in and home owners, agents, Lawyers and HIP providers each reacted in their own way – some of the comments can be read here.

The main points for debate surrounded the absence of any time scale, resulting unemployment and the legal issues facing home owners and estate agents.

Well, the Government has acted pretty quickly (eight days) and fulfilled their manifesto and confirmed today that HIPS have been suspended. This was announced at a press conference held at Bullman Booth estate agents in Battersea, London.

Full press release on Communities and Local Government website.

This should now banish any second thoughts or delays from home owners who were waiting in the wings to sell their property.

CLG Secretary of State Eric Pickles said:

“HIPs are history. This action will encourage sellers back into the market and help the market as a whole, and the economy recover.”

Housing minister Grant Shapps said:

“This is a great example of how this new Government is getting straight down to work by cutting away pointless red-tape that is strangling the market. Rather than shelling out hundreds of pounds for nothing in return we’re stripping away bureaucracy and letting home owners sell their properties.

“But we’re also showing our commitment to a greener housing market by keeping Energy Performance Certificates and making them more relevant in helping buyers make informed decisions on the energy costs of their new home.”

Here’s our comment on the situation from our Commercial Director, Nick Leeming. Do let us know your thoughts on the situation using the comment box below.

“There were serious concerns that a delay in the scrapping of HIPs would harm the housing market by deterring would-be sellers from putting their homes on the market. But the government has responded quickly and the imminent suspension of HIPs will banish any second thoughts from homeowners. The writing was always on the wall for HIPs. The packs did not contain all the key information buyers and solicitors would need and sellers were always reluctant to incur additional costs – particularly during the economic downturn when there was no guarantee of a sale completing. The inevitable job losses are unquestionably a bitter blow for those who paid considerable amounts to train as home inspectors. The hope is that the demise of HIPs will boost the housing market recovery and, in turn, create further employment in the sector.”

Please feel free to use Nick’s comment above; all we ask is that you credit the source as Nick Leeming, Commercial Director, Zoopla.co.uk and link to Zoopla.co.uk.

Entry filed under: House Prices, Politics. Tags: eric pickles, grant shapps, HIPS, housing, suspending hips.