Conveyancing: 'engage with the process to save your businesses,' Law Society warns


Home information packs (HIPs) will 'go live' on 1 June 2007 - and it is vital that practitioners now engage with the process to ensure their conveyancing practices survive, the Law Society's Deputy Vice-President said this week after a meeting with the minister in charge of the controversial project.



Housing minister Yvette Cooper confirmed to Paul Marsh and Desmond Hudson, the Society's chief executive, that the government still intended to launch the new home sellers' packs on the scheduled date.



Mr Marsh, who is a member of the Society's HIPs task force, said many law firms had been uncertain whether the packs would become a reality, but it was now clear they were going to happen, and solicitors should prepare their practices to be able to offer them.



'The minister looked us in the eyes and said it would happen on 1 June. Solicitors will now have to engage with the process if they want to save their conveyancing businesses,' Mr Marsh said.



He added: 'Nobody knows what will happen on that date - it's the biggest gamble in the property market for 50 years.'



The meeting came in advance of the deadline for submissions to the government's consultation on refinements to the process and delivery of HIPs, which are intended to address problems surrounding local authority searches and leasehold properties highlighted during the area trials.



The government has proposed that from the launch date, properties will be able to be marketed without searches or leasehold documents for a six-month transitional period, provided that a HIP provider states that those documents have been requested.



Peter Ambrose, director of pack provider The Partnership, said the consultation showed a pragmatic response by the government. One exception, he said, was the recommendation that estate agents include the new energy performance certificate in the particulars, which he warned would create duplication and drive up costs.



Rob Hailstone, chief executive of pack provider HIPAG, told the Gazette he was concerned that the term 'HIP provider' had not been defined, and anyone - including unregulated suppliers - could offer the products.



Dominic Cullis, managing director at e-conveyancing systems provider Easy Convey, agreed, arguing that the market could attract 'rogue traders'. He said estate agents had already been contacted by 'self-proclaimed' HIP providers, including companies based offshore.



The government, meanwhile, is to launch a media campaign towards the end of the month to raise awareness of the packs. The Law Society will also be launching a press and marketing campaign to highlight its own HIP and the benefits of packs prepared by solicitors.



Catherine Baksi