21
May
HIPS - RIP
Andrew Meehan of Keats was pleased that Home Information Packs
have been abolished. Here he explains why:
“It’s over. After an inestimable amount of wasted
time and money since 2007 the new government has been swift to put
Home Information Packs out of their misery and suspend them ahead
of future abolition. It hardly matters if this was a soft target
for our new government. It provided them with a ready-made
opportunity to display early decisiveness over a piece of largely
useless legislation that very few wanted to keep. But as both the
Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats had decided to end HIPs
before the election it was only a matter of time until they were
scrapped. It better suited government, market and people that it
was sooner rather than later.
Our previous government pressed ahead with this legislation
despite all industry advice to the contrary: the only HIPs
enthusiasts being the government itself and those that would make
real money from putting the packs together.
This latest move is seen as helping along the property market,
and we hope it will. The Energy Performance Certificate element
will remain to provide a guide and focus on thermal economy. But in
the absence of HIPs more property could now come to the market, and
with buyers still suffering from a lack of mortgage funds this
could pressurise sellers anxious to find a good buyer. Our advice
to sellers is to speak to a solicitor or conveyancer early to
ensure legal readiness. In the end this will save time and money.
If there was one good thing about HIPs it was that they ensured
sellers were ‘paperwork ready’ to move.
It is hard to see how those who brought about HIPs can fail now
to be embarrassed for having done so, and it is hard to see how the
new government can fail to be pleased to be rid of them. Home
sellers will be glad not to have to pay for them and estate agents
will be delighted that their clients can test the market without
having to put in place an expensive HIP.
But spare a thought for the thousands of people who saw HIPs as
a genuine and exciting new career opportunity. Many gave up safe
jobs and funded their own fruitless training only to be bitterly
let down. They are the innocent losers. These are the sorts of
people that governments should consider more carefully in future
before embarking on ridiculous and misguided legislation in fields
they know little about.”