Publications

Propsed HIP Reforms Published

A group of proeprty professionals released a "white paper" on the 5th January 2010 which puts forward proposals to reform the controversial Home Information Packs (HIP).

The HIP was introduced in December 2007 were designed to provide the potential purchaser of a property with information about a property upfront and before they incurred any costs. However rather than revolutionise the property market they have come up against much criticism since being introduced.

The HIP Reform Group established in Novemver 2009 and who are responsible for writing the paper maintain that the government can reform the buying and selling process with minimal effort and resistance from the industry.  The group has also made it clear that the pcks should be retained and not scrapped, as a would be conservative government plans to do.

The Proposals

The white paper propses that before putting a property on the market, the seller should instruct an adviser to prepare a pack containing all documents and required information for exchange. The pack does not need to be complete, however must have been commissioned.

Instead of having a compulsory check list of documents the pack must include the group proposes that the content of the pack be at the discretion of the solicitor or adviser compiling it. This means that regional variations can be taken into account and factors which are non-applicable can be disregarded.

This information would then be delivered to the buyer aliong with a "consumer freiendly" summary within 28 working days of the first day of marketing or 14 working days from the date of an offer.

In order to comply with European Law, the vendor would need to have commissioned the energy performance certificate in place before marketng of the proeprty commences.

David Pett, the author of the white paper saus "the idea is designed to bring practical and cost benefits to the consumer as well as property professionals, and could be introduced with very light touch regulation". Pett also dismisses criticism of the HIP as unfounded.

If would like further information on a HIP or are buying or selling a property please contact Andrew Flint.

For further information please visit our Property section. 

Date: January 2010