HIPs 'will speed up house-buying'
Updated on 01 August 2007
House buying will be faster with the introduction of the controversial new Home Information Packs, the Government insists.
Housing Minister Yvette Cooper said the packs, known as HIPs, which have come into force in England and Wales, will help make house buying speedier by requiring information at the outset.
From Wednesday, anyone putting a property with four or more bedrooms up for sale must compile one of the packs, which will include energy performance certificates (EPCs), standard searches and evidence of title.
The Conservatives meanwhile have claimed local authorities will struggle to impose the law on HIPs, leading to widespread avoidance, evasion and non-compliance.
Grant Shapps, shadow minister for housing, is joining television presenter Kirstie Allsopp, from property show Location, Location, Location, to spell out criticisms of the packs.
Some commentators have warned that HIPs could distort the market by leading to a long-term shortage in the number of homes for sale.
The implementation of the packs comes after the Government was forced to delay the introduction of HIPs from June to August following a legal challenge from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and fierce Tory opposition.
The then communities and local government secretary Ruth Kelly announced in May that HIPs would be phased in, with the packs only required for four-bedroom properties and larger at the outset.
Ms Cooper said: "The first thing they do is just bring together the information that you have to get anyway and you have to pay for anyway, but at the beginning of the process, rather than at the end, so it speeds the process up and makes it clearer.
"The second thing they do, which I think is really important, is that they provide an energy rating - it is like a fridge rating for your home, you get it on a washing machine, all the white goods.
"Given the amount of money we all put into our homes, it is right that we should have this kind of rating on our home as well. It will tell you how to cut your fuel bills for the future."
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