The lender believes the time has come for the government to admit defeat and administer the lethal dose to the Home Information Pack.
Alan Cleary, edeus’ managing director, commented: “HIPs had not been properly thought through. They would have added no value to the consumer, only bureaucracy and cost. In the end the government realised that they would have caused a major downturn in the housing market and in the overall economy just when the Labour Party was starting to set its sights on the next election. I can’t say the U-turn was a big surprise given the fiasco over SIPPs.”
“The compromise solution, of a HIP without a home condition report, is no better: this is an emasculated HIP, it’s like meat without two veg, and that’s no use to man nor beast. Now the government must go the whole hog, recognise that they are unworkable, and abolish HIPs altogether. A HIP without a home condition report is a meaningless stack of documents. Even the energy rating does not need to be part of the HIP and can be done as part of the valuation.”
“We wholeheartedly support Spicerhaart’s campaign for estate agents to boycott HIPs – we lenders have no use for them either. They are unworkable and unforceable – ditch the HIP. Once again the housing and mortgage industry have paid the price of a government fumble and the consumer has been led up the garden path.”
