Insurance News Archive
Hips begin to falter
Objections to the government's proposed Home Information Packs (Hips) seem to have hit their target.
Housing Minister Yvette Cooper has said that home condition reports the most controversial aspect of the proposals will no longer be introduced in September, reports the London Evening Standard.
She said that the system needs 'more testing', but was still planned for implementation at some stage.
An external consultant has apparently been employed and the entire Hip proposal is being reviewed.
It has also emerged that some local authorities do not support the packs, fearing that the regulations will be flouted by the public and raising concerns over potential cost implications for sellers.
Chairman of the Local Authorities Co-ordinator for Regulatory Services (Lacors), councillor Geoffrey Theobald, said today (July 18th) that there will be no criminal powers to prosecute pack dodgers.
"This means that there is no real incentive for estate agents or sellers to ensure there is a correct home information pack because the likelihood of proceedings being taken against them is very low," he warned.
Concerns have also been raised that the introduction of Hips could lead to a slump in the UK property market.
The Conservative party is running an anti-Hip campaign and a petition has been circulating in the House of Commons.
18 Jul 2006
