Mike Ockenden, director-general of Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP), responded: “The allegation made by RICS, claiming to have found a loop-hole in the latest HIP regulations, which will not require sellers to produce a HIP at the exchange of contracts, is nothing more than the typical anti-HIP propaganda we have learned to expect. Following our own investigations into the regulations, this allegation is totally unfounded.
“It seems extraordinary to me that RICS spokesperson, Finchley estate agent Jeremy Leaf, should be advising sellers they need not acquire a HIP for their home, when only recently he was quoted on Times Online, as saying: 'The introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) should make the home buying process simpler, more efficient and transparent as nearly all of the information you need to purchase a property will be available at the outset. This should reduce the risk of wasting money on abortive costs and the possibility of the sale falling through.'
"Is he now advising consumers to steer away from HIPs, hence away from the many benefits the packs will hold - the majority of which he has clearly identified above – this is surely not in the best interest of the consumer?”
Commenting on RICS proposal that energy performance certificates should be performed at the time of the valuation, Dominic Toller, director of marketing and new business, LMS, said: “What has become abundantly clear throughout this process is that RICS has got its head in the sand over HIPs. Although they have been very vocal about their reasons for objecting, everyone knows that it’s in their best interests to keep the whole process centred on the surveyors instead of buyers and sellers. RICS has entirely missed the point about the savings HIPs will make both in money and time for the consumer. Their constant undermining of the process is bad news for everyone but most of all for the consumer.
“RICS don’t want HIPs because RICS are not ready for 1 August: they don’t have enough surveyors let alone enough Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs). RICS have confirmed they only have five fully trained and ready to go.
“Instead of looking for ways to feather their own nest and lobbying against HIPs, maybe they should focus on the recruitment and training of a new generation of chartered surveyors before the current batch expires totally.”
