Packs: joint letter calls on government to enter talks over 'reckless' decision to push on




Major stakeholders in the property industry have warned that the government's plans to introduce home information packs (HIPs) are chaotic, costly to the consumer and potentially damaging to the housing market.



With less than three months to go before the new seller's packs become mandatory, the Law Society, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Council of Mortgage Lenders and National Association of Estate Agents have written to housing minister Yvette Cooper, urging the government to meet with them to discuss their concerns before the launch date on 1 June.



Law Society Deputy Vice-President Paul Marsh said: 'The government's decision to charge ahead with the introduction on 1 June, despite the fact that the regulations are not yet finalised, and fail to deal with the realities of the market place, is reckless.' He added that the government needed to address other problems in the housing market, such as the continued problem of searches, to improve the situation for buyers and sellers.



The so-called 'gold-plating' of the requirement to include an energy performance certificate in the pack has been attacked for going beyond what is legally required by Brussels legislation and driving up cost and administration.



RICS spokesman Jeremy Leaf said: 'Officials are blindly pressing on with their compulsory Whitehall solution despite evidence that this ignores market realities, introduces unnecessary regulation and is environmentally unsound.'



Speaking ahead of the launch of the HIPs publicity campaign in this weekend's newspapers, also including direct mail to solicitors, a spokes-man for the Department for Communities and Local Government insisted HIPs would save costs and improve the operation of the housing market. He said there was no evidence that they would damage the market.



He added that the department had been in a continuous process of consultation and discussion to ensure the smooth introduction of HIPs.



Catherine Baksi