Despite the government’s announcement that Home Information Packs (HIPs) will be rolled out in full to encompass one and two-bed properties from 14 December, the war of words surrounding the beleaguered packs shows no sign of letting up.
Opinion remains deeply divided over whether HIPs provide any material benefit to the house buying and selling process and the news of full implementation has been met with varying degrees of joy, and disdain.
Certainly, pro and anti-HIP organisations remain at loggerheads, throwing statistics and accusations around to support their arguments.
The Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) has naturally welcomed the announcement with open arms, having called for the extension for some time. Paul Broadhead, deputy director-general at AHIPP, states that independent research by Europe Economics dispels suggestions that HIPs are having a detrimental affect on the market and that continued mis-information has contributed to delays.
Yet, to rebut this, research by Propertyfinder.com has found 70 per cent of the 842 estate agents it surveyed believe HIPs are disrupting the market and 84 per cent want the packs abolished completely.
Nevertheless, Broadhead says: “HIPs are here to stay. By working together with the wider industry we can now build upon this foundation and really revolutionise the market for the benefit of the consumer and the industry. In addition, we can also start to significantly improve the energy efficiency of our homes.”
Palpable relief
HIP providers’ relief is also palpable, as for a time it seemed the scheme could be scrapped completely as the government delayed and revised.
Dominic Toller, director of marketing and new business at LMS, says: “The anti-HIP camp is going to have to face facts now – the packs are legitimately established within the housing market and mandatory for all properties before they are put up for sale.
"We urge the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Law Society, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and other trade bodies to accept that HIPs are now a done deal. It is time for everyone in the industry to make this a workable initiative and help, rather than hinder, the revolution in house buying that is long overdue.”
Extreme disappointment
However, at the opposite end of the spectrum, vocal HIP protestors the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) has said it is ‘extremely disappointed’ with the news.
Stewart Lilly, president at the NAEA, comments: “The government seems hell-bent on pressing ahead with these ludicrous plans, which it has been warned time and again are not the answer. In giving such short notice for this final phase, the Communities and Local Government (CLG) has demonstrated a lack of respect for the industry and home owners alike.”
Lilly questions the independent report on HIPs from the CLG that found ‘no evidence of impact on transactions or prices’. He explains: “I would be interested to see this report, as it directly contradicts our own findings. If the report is as positive as the government suggests, then why has a bigger deal not been made of these findings?
The incompetence of the government over HIPs seems to know no limits. Why can’t it admit it’s got it wrong and let us work with it to make things right?”
There is no doubt the extended and confusing roll-out of HIPs has done the government no favours in instilling confidence in its commitment to the issue.
Yet, until the packs bed in properly, the industry will have to wait to see their true impact and whether the proposed benefits do come to fruition. One thing that can be certain from the extension is that people will no longer have to ask what is or isn’t officially a bedroom.
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