Hips operation bungled, again

Who’d have thought it? With just over a week to go before their grand introduction, the government has decided to delay the birth of Home Information Packs (Hips).

Department for communities and local government secretary Ruth Kelly stepped up to the podium and made the announcement to Parliament this afternoon.

It would seem that the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) are responsible for the derailment after it put forward a legal challenge to the packs, which for the record were expected to cost vendors about £600.

Of course general sentiment now hopes this will give the industry more time to ensure a smooth introduction of Hips but all this represents is another chapter in the ongoing fiasco. 

Given all the arguments that have engulfed this tricky subject methinks that placing “smooth introduction” ahead of “Hips” in the same sentence is asking for the public imagination and goodwill to stretch too far.

Needless to say the Association of Home Information Pack Providers was not backward in declaring its utter disappointment in today’s announcement urging that “this latest decision is at the cost of the consumer and the environment.”

I suspect its probably going to cost Hip providers a bit too.

Hips were meant to speed up the buying/selling process, help the environment and let us not forget put a stop to that most detested of activities - gazumping.

We will have to wait a while longer – two months (at least) before we discover if any of these ring true because for now the start date is August 1 where Hips will be phased in and will at first become compulsory for the sales of four bedroom houses.

Let us know your thoughts on this latest Hip development.

Comments

[Gary Quinn]

At least the government are maintaining consistency. Just ask the financial advisers who tooled up for the sale of residential property into pension funds, only to see another u-turn by ministers.
UKplc should not risk planning for anything this lot say they are going to do.

[Tony of Thorpe Bay essex]

Yet another example of this Government's gross incompetence in implementing its ill conceived policys. Whoever it was who suggested that all socialist governments were long on theory but short on practical application was absolutely right. Recent examples - immigration forecasts, prison places planning, olympics funding projections, the dome, Iraq aftermath, pensions tax grab, NHS funding, Tax credits fiasco and Hips and these examples just scratch the surface in a catalogue of mismanagement.

[Malcolm]

The original intention was a good idea as it included a building survey but HIPS as it stands is almost worthless. Any good survey will tell you about insultaion, approx age of central heating etc. - -most of which you can see for yourself. And the energy survey will only help reduce emmisions if the purchaser implements the recommendations! How they think this will prevet gazumping and speed up the porcess is beyond me and shows extreme naivety on the part of this government - not for the first time.

[Malcolm]

The original intention was a good idea as it included a building survey but HIPS as it stands is almost worthless. Any good survey will tell you about insultaion, approx age of central heating etc. - -most of which you can see for yourself. And the energy survey will only help reduce emmisions if the purchaser implements the recommendations! How they think this will prevet gazumping and speed up the porcess is beyond me and shows extreme naivety on the part of this government - not for the first time.

[Jyotish]

If one of the intentions is to prevent gazumping, is this the right & sensible way to go about it ? Is this another confirmation of the fact that politicians have left their common sense behind when they came to Parliament. In Scotland there is no gazumping. And how do they do it ? Let us without embarrasment follow their example.

[mike]

it seems that people forget that this (HIPS) scheme is wholly produced an supported by H.M> Goverment.....and, based on past experiance. should as such should be condemmed accordingly.
This will produce more payments to 'THE INSPECTORS'- (new TV series?) solicitors/agents etc
and of course more TAX.

[Newton]

I think that it just shows the inability of ministers in this government to admit when they have made a mistake. Why can't they just say 'sorry' and promise not to do this sort of thing again - but no - they are so obsessed with their 'initiatives' and self importance that this is impossible.
No on in this administration thinks that the public have any common sense at all and can see all these initiatives are ill thought out and incompetently managed

[stephen lewis]

HIPS were and are a good idea because they wrap all the minutiae rqeuired to sell a house into one convenient package and will make it easier for the seller and buyer to proceed. All this nonsense and objections sprout from the legal and surveying professions looking to protect their back from these so called H.I.P inspector upstarts.Understandably so-householders will effectively save the price of a housepack by the professionals having less work to do and so having to charge less.A good example of the "life is simple - why make it complicated " philosophy.

[home inspector]

A great well writen post. as a domestic energy assessor in the uk im interested in this for my epc.