Hips still ‘a waste of time’ one year on

Permalink: Hips still ‘a waste of time’ one year on
by Kay Murchie

On the first anniversary of Home Information Packs (Hips), the majority of people still believe they are a waste of time, according to a survey by YouGov.

The survey which was commissioned by Leeds Legal, an alliance of the city’s major law firms, found that 57% of those questioned said it is time to abolish the scheme.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for Leeds Legal said as the credit crunch continues, priorities lie with cutting back on spending not about Hips. Our research clearly shows that people view them as a waste of time and money.

Hips were introduced to speed up the home buying and selling process as well as providing consumers with a faster and more cost effective service.

A Hip costs sellers around £350 and contain title deeds, searches and an energy performance certificate.

Since their launch, they have been subject to heavy criticism and continue to be after Peter Bolton King, of the National Association of Estate Agents, said the packs have been surrounded by a catalogue of disasters since they were introduced.

To date, they have served as a hindrance and nothing more than a purposeless piece of red tape, added Mr Bolton King.

The Conservative party have been calling for Hips to be scrapped and are re-iterating this request. Shadow housing minister, Grant Shapps, said the public don’t trust the paper these packs are written on.

An independent review of Hips was carried out in June by Sir Bryan Carsberg who recommended that the scheme be made voluntary, after establishing that it added to administration and costs but did not provide reliable information.

Furthermore in May, MDA, a leading property firm, revealed that over 50% of buyers’ solicitors recommend that they commission their own searches to maintain due diligence for their client.

Finally, Ipsos MORI, a multi-specialist research company, discovered that only 8% of buyers felt that Hips had sped up the home-buying process, while 75% said that Hips had no effect on their decision on what home to buy.