Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the NAEA, said: "The NAEA is bitterly disappointed that the government has insisted on pushing through these ill prepared measures with clear disregard for their potentially damaging impact on the housing market. Home Information Packs (HIPs) will cause unnecessary delays and frustration to house buyers and sellers and will inevitably have a negative inflationary affect on the market.
“We are particularly disappointed that the government neglected to listen to the arguments in favour of day one marketing – effectively abolishing the historic right for consumers to market their home at a time of their choosing. The fact that the government has fallen back on its misinterpretation of the NAEA’s own guidelines, underlines that it has clearly lost the argument on day one marketing. It was frustrating that the Liberal Democrats failed to stick up for consumer rights when it mattered and did not support the amendment that they had previously championed."
He added: “We welcome the late added clause giving the Secretary of State the power to suspend HIPs in the light of any future difficulties. This gives us assurance that action can be taken in the event of real problems arising from the introduction of HIPs.
“We now look forward to the national voluntary pilot scheme for HIPs which will take place in 2006. The government has conceded that every stage of the further development of HIPs will be up for discussion and subject to rigorous scrutiny. This will allow us to assess the practicalities of the packs within the reality of the housing market and we will continue to push the government to ensure that delays in marketing are kept to a minimum. Only then can they ensure that these proposals will meet their aim of working in the best interests of consumers.”
