Back in the days before Tony Blair became Prime Minister, the 1997 Labour manifesto included Seller Packs. These evolved into Home Information Packs (HIPs), intended to streamline the home-buying process. The packs were to include everything one needs to sell a home and were based on schemes already in use in Denmark, Australia and the USA.
In 1999, Bristol took part in a trial of the HIP, but with a somewhat indifferent response, the Government decided to shelve the bill. Four years later, the packs resurfaced. In November 2003, a bill was introduced in the Queen's speech and, one year later, scraped through Parliament. HIPs were to become law on June 1, 2007.
Good or bad idea?
At the time, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and the Consumer Association both welcomed the legislation under the principle that the Government was attempting to make the process of buying and selling a home faster and easier. However, The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) did not share their enthusiasm.
Criticism gathered momentum in the summer of 2006, aided by objections from Kirstie Allsopp on Location, Location, Location. The NAEA continued to lobby, claiming HIPs could "spell disaster" for the housing market. It was at this point that the Consumer Association changed sides, labelling the scheme "half-baked". Within days of Location, Location, Location having been broadcast, the Government removed a vital part of the HIP. The Home Condition Report (HCR), or survey, was withdrawn as a mandatory component of the pack. However, there is still a chance it may be reintroduced at some point in the future.
HIPs were scheduled to be launched in England and Wales on June 1, albeit in a rather diluted form from the original idea, but just 10 days before the launch date, Ruth Kelly announced the postponement of HIPs. Not only was the date to be put back by two months, but certain criteria were to be diluted further.
In Scotland, however, there are still plans for a similar scheme to be introduced in 2008. This scheme will be known as the Purchase Information Pack (PIP) and will include a property survey.
A diluted version
Now a HIP will only be required for houses with four or more bedrooms. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, only 17 per cent of houses fit this category. As with the abeyance of plans for the HCR, there are proposals to include houses with three or fewer bedrooms at some point in the future. The exact details have not yet been announced.
The main reason for the latest postponement and reduction in the number of application properties is the battle between RICS and the Government over the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The EPC is fundamentally an energy audit - an inspector who rates the property's energy efficiency by examining the boiler, light bulbs, windows, lofts and cavity insulation.
The Government had stated that 2,500 EPC inspectors would be required by June 2007 to carry out the necessary assessments, but with the date looming there were only 520 with the required accreditation, making the whole scheme unworkable.
The inevitable result could be postponement so that the Government can save face - something they have attempted to do by the reduction in the number of properties to be included in the scheme.
A further and welcome change in the deferred implementation of HIPs is that the EPC will be valid for a full year rather than just three months. And if the property should come off the market and then reappear within a 12-month period, the HIP would still be valid. In addition, sellers will be able to market their property on the commissioning of the HIP and will not be required to have a completed report.
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