Details on the terms of regulations covering the contents of the packs such as business and technical standards including complaints and redress, as well as information about the government’s forthcoming baseline research to examine the current market, will be key indicators about the initiative’s success.
In light of this, the CML has urged the government to pay particularly close attention to two important aspects of the HIPs implementation programme. These include ensuring the market impact assessment now being undertaken is robust and taken account of, and ensuring there are clear, unambiguous and widely supported success criteria for assessing each of the three separate phases of the ‘dry run’.
The CML has said that these are both useful tests to help provide some objective assessment of the costs and benefits of implementing the HIPs scheme.
Michael Coogan, director general of the CML said: “The government is determined that HIPs will become compulsory in a year’s time. This timescale in achievable, although it is very challenging. Over the next month the government is due to publish a detailed range of implementation information and reactions to this will help determine whether any delays are likely to emerge.”
Coogan added that the CML was due to release details of its findings on lenders’ valuation practices and the influence that HIPs may exert.
Commenting, Alan Dring, sales director at eConveyancer, said: “Lenders need to start seriously thinking about HIPs and their impact. The next month will show that the government will not do a U-turn on HIPs and that the regulations will be confirmed. HIPs could be a very powerful retention vehicle for lenders, but if they don’t start thinking about this now, they may well miss the boat.”
