Call for HIP rethink

The controversial home information packs (HIPs) proposed in the Housing Bill might not speed up house sales at all, the chairman of the parliamentary committee considering the Bill said this week.

Launching the committee's latest report, Labour MP Andrew Bennett said it felt that 'much more work needs to be done on the HIPs before the Housing Bill even gets a second reading'.

The packs have attracted controversy, particularly for requiring a home condition report as part of the information provided by sellers.

The report said HIPs have not been adequately piloted - the government's pilot in Bristol covered 61 sales out of the 1.5 million completed across England each year.

It criticised the international models used as comparisons because these 'are very different to England and Wales'.

The report said it was unclear what effect HIPs would have on the speed and rate at which houses are sold, and that purchasers might not trust HIPs which they have not commissioned themselves.

Law Society President Peter Williamson said: 'We urge the government to think again about plans to introduce HIPs on a compulsory basis.

The evidence from almost all of those with knowledge of the house-buying system is that the inclusion of a home condition report in the pack would increase the cost of buying and selling houses, without speeding up the process.'

Jeremy Fleming