21
May
HIP - RIP
Nick Churton of Mayfair Office explains why he was pleased with
yesterday's announcment by the Government regarding HIPs.
"It’s over. After an inestimable
amount of wasted time and money since 2007 the new government has
been swift to put Home Information Packs out of their misery and
suspend them ahead of future abolition. It hardly matters if this
was a soft target for our new government. It provided them
with a ready-made opportunity to display early decisiveness over a
piece of largely useless legislation that very few wanted to keep.
But as both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats had decided
to end HIPs before the election it was only a matter of time until
they were scrapped. It better suited government, market and
people that it was sooner rather than later.
Our previous government pressed ahead with
this legislation despite all industry advice to the contrary: the
only HIPs enthusiasts being the government itself and those that
would make real money from putting the packs together.
This latest move is seen as helping along the
property market, and we hope it will. The Energy Performance
Certificate element will remain to provide a guide and focus on
thermal economy. But in the absence of HIPs more property could now
come to the market, and with buyers still suffering from a lack of
mortgage funds this could pressurise sellers anxious to find a good
buyer. Our advice to sellers is to speak to a solicitor or
conveyancer early to ensure legal readiness. In the end this
will save time and money. If there was one good thing about
HIPs it was that they ensured sellers were ‘paperwork
ready’ to move.
It is hard to see how those who brought about
HIPs can fail now to be embarrassed for having done so, and it is
hard to see how the new government can fail to be pleased to be rid
of them. Home sellers will be glad not to have to pay for
them and estate agents will be delighted that their clients can
test the market without having to put in place an expensive
HIP.
But spare a thought for the thousands of
people who saw HIPs as a genuine and exciting new career
opportunity. Many gave up safe jobs and funded their own
fruitless training only to be bitterly let down. They are the
innocent losers. These are the sorts of people that
governments should consider more carefully in future before
embarking on ridiculous and misguided legislation in fields they
know little about."
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