Bungled HIPs packs crticised

Jan 3 2008 by Graeme Whitfield, The Journal

THE Government will today be blasted by MPs over its bungled introduction of controversial Home Information Packs.

A Commons committee will accuse ministers of a “failure of nerve” in delaying Home Information Packs (HIPs) intended to make the process of buying a house quicker and easier.

The packs must contain an energy performance certificate as well as information on whether the property is freehold or leasehold, standard searches and evidence of lease title and information where required.

All properties marked for sale since December 14 last year in England and Wales will now require a HIP before a sale can happen. HIPs were due to be rolled out in June 2007 by the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) but were introduced two months later and only for homes with four or more bedrooms.

Three-bedroom houses were added last September, with HIPs for all homes becoming mandatory last month.

Critics have claimed it will distort the housing market, lead to fewer starter homes and make it harder for first-time buyers, and the Communities and Local Government committee has attacked the Government over the issue.

Committee chairman Dr Phyllis Starkey said: “The long and tortuous process of introducing Home Information Packs signals a failure of delivery on CLG’s part.

“It is clear the reasons for this lie in poor preparation and then a retreat by the Department’s ministerial team.”

The report hit out at the DCLG’s top civil servant who blamed a lack of home inspectors for the problem when that was caused by his department watering down and repeatedly putting off HIPs – putting off potential candidates.

And the DCLG’s decision to only include one “uninformative” reference to troubled HIPs in its annual report was “unacceptable”, with ministers and officials accused of not being “vastly more” forthcoming during committee hearings.

Housing minister Yvette Cooper told the committee last October that extra advice was taken over additional uncertainty in the housing market, caused by Northern Rock’s problems and overall quietness.

But MPs said the decisions to delay HIPs and phase them were taken on political rather than economic grounds, which owed “more to a failure of nerve in the face of vocal opposition from the Press and others than to the general conditions prevailing in the housing market itself.”

Wendy Morton, Tory Parliamentary candidate in Tynemouth, said her party wanted HIPs scrapped. “HIPS are just another example of this Government’s love of bureaucracy. They are more of a hindrance than a help to homebuyers,” she added.

And Peter Fall, whose Newcastle-based firm provides energy efficiency reports, said the delays were an “appalling bungle” with the industry warning months before the Government had not put necessary machinery in place. He added the phased introduction was not needed while many home inspectors were now without work with 229 qualified in the region despite just 80 needed for full-roll out, according to the MPs’ report.

Mr Fall, managing director of Eaga professional services, has a network of 60 such officials nationwide.

He said HIPS had changed the “emphasis” in the housing market with prospective sellers wanting to see the level of interest no longer putting homes up for sale – resulting in 40% fewer properties on offer.