Anyone wanting to sell their home must have a Home Information Pack (HIP) in place before they can put their property on the market, under new rules introduced today.
Up until now, a seller only needed to have ordered one to begin the sales process.
The packs are a Government initiative designed to provide information to potential
home buyers on issues like energy efficiency.
However, critics believe that making HIPs compulsory will merely exacerbate the housing market slump by deterring potential sellers.
Hold off until recession is over
According to a recent survey by the National Association of Estate Agents, the vast majority of property professionals (89%) do not believe the new requirements are beneficial to
buyers.
Almost two thirds (65%) believe the new arrangements will actually discourage sellers from putting their properties up for sale - helping an already slumping property market to slow down further.
The estate agent figures are mirrored by the Government's own statistics, which showed that 77% of house buyers paid no attention to HIPs when they decided whether or not to buy a property.
As a result, NAEA chief executive Peter Bolton King is calling on the Government to suspend HIPs at least until the recession is over.
"It is extremely worrying that the Government is pushing ahead with an ill-judged and unpopular scheme that, in the opinion of UK property professionals, will actually slow the market down,” says King.
"It reflects a stubbornness on the part of the Government and a reluctance to admit that HIPs in the main are pointless and expensive - and according to their own figures, ignored by the very people they claim benefit from them.”
Latest in a long line of complaints
The NAEA is by no means alone in its opposition to the controversial packs, which have been met by
staunch resistance at every step - the Tories have even used it as part of their election strategy, promising to scrap the packs should they be voted into office.
As a result, the roll out of HIPs has been a slow process – the government originally planned to launch the packs last June.
Now that they have finally arrived, the timing couldn't possibly be worse. The housing market is battered and bruised, property prices are still falling and the number of transactions is languishing at near record lows.
The government has of course taken a number of drastic steps to revive the market and get the banks lending again. This is what makes their unwavering support for HIPs, which so many people are convinced will
hamper the property market, so surprising.
We should trust estate agents – this time
While estate agents are probably the last people anyone would want to trust, there is a good reason to do so with regard to their disdain of HIPs.
Their aim is solely to make money, and they can only do this by ensuring the
property market remains well oiled and houses continue to 'change hands'. If they are opposed to HIPs, it is because they believe it will prove an obstacle to this.
However, it seems unlikely that the Government are going to listen. As we mentioned earlier, they have ignored all opposition so far and will likely continue to do so – whatever the consequences.
