Hips still subject to criticism but look set to continue

Permalink: Hips still subject to criticism but look set to continue
by Kay Murchie

Home Information Packs (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.

However, they have been subject to heavy criticism since they were introduced.

Hips were launched on August 1 to include properties with 4-bedrooms or more and rolled-out to include 3-bedroom properties on September 10. They included all properties from December 14 last year.

There is suggestion that a drastic review of the property buying and selling industry is required, according to a new report entitled the Carsberg Review of Residential Property.

The review is intended to scrutinise private residential property in England and Wales and was commissioned by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA).

One item mentioned in the report was that the home buying process has not been improved since Hips were introduced.

The report has been welcomed by Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, who said the organisation has been against Hips since their launch date and doesn’t believe they would ever improve the home buying process. He believes that Hips should become a voluntary requirement.

The Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) claims that Hips will continue to part of the house buying and selling process for the foreseeable future. AHIPP highlighted that Hips were launched to protect consumers, as well as estate agents, conveyancers and mortgage lenders.

Mike Ockenden of AHIPP understands the point of view of estate agents but said they need to understand their legal responsibilities in respect of Hips.

In order to protect themselves, and of course their customers, they should only use packs that carry the Hip code logo, concluded Mr Ockenden.