Both the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) and the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) have praised the select committee's report which found the CLG guilty of mishandling HIPs.
However the union is short lived as both organisations do so from their opposing corners. The AHIPP stresses that it would have liked HIPs to have launched into the market at a far swifter pace, whilst the NAEA says that it made its concerns known to the government in good time, yet the CLG still failed to take note.
Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA supported the select committee's findings, reaffirming the Association's anti-HIP stance.
“Time and time again we urged the government to listen to us and take our concerns seriously," he said. "We are extremely keen to help the government find ways of improving the home buying and selling process in the UK, but we will not support a piece of legislation that we believe is ineffective, or worse – that is detrimental to the market and consumers.
“We have consistently said HIPs are not the answer - it’s just a shame that the government has not paid attention to the concerns of the industry up to now. This whole mess could have been avoided if it had.”
Mike Ockenden, AHIPP director general concluded that the focus should now be on moving forward: “We cannot change the past, and with HIPs clearly not having the detrimental impact on the market that many forecast, it is time to move on.
“Now that the full roll out is completed, we look forward to working with government and other stakeholders on improving the pack to make it ‘exchange ready’. In particular this must include making the Home Condition Report (HCR) mandatory."
