I find it amazing that given the terrible state of the fragile housing market in Harlow and the surrounding villages, the Government have pressed ahead with the introduction of complex and expensive new Home Information Pack rules.
From today, extra Home Information Pack (HIP) regulations will hinder sellers from putting their homes on the market, mislead buyers and create a real danger of £200 fines from town hall officials.
The Government is even cancelling the ‘first day marketing’ provision which allowed sellers to market their home if a HIP had been ordered, but had not yet been completed.
Sellers will now have to wait even longer before they can put up a ‘For Sale’ sign. if this were not bad enough - HIPs must have a so-called ‘Property Information Questionnaire’ completed by the seller. The questionnaire is useless, as unscrupulous sellers can sidestep difficult questions that could reduce their house price by ticking a “don’t know” box.
The buyer cannot be certain that the information is reliable about such things as past dry rot or damp, insurance claims, experience of flooding, and whether past alterations had official permission. Honest sellers will also suffer, as disputes over information in Property Information Questionnaires will end up in the courts, with buyers suing sellers.
Town halls have been instructed to “identify specific cases of non-compliance and enforce the requirements” - and start fining homeowners £200 a time if they do not follow the new rules. The Government’s own research has found there is little public knowledge about, or interest in HIPs; that the industry thinks they are a waste of time; that they duplicate costs and that buyers are not bothering to consult HIPs. Ministers have emergency powers under the Housing Act to suspend HIPs, but have refused to use them.
I stongly believe that the introduction of HIPs is a disaster. They have have already damaged the market and discouraged sellers. Now Gordon Brown is making things even worse. You cannot trust the contents of a Home Information Pack, and these regulations will lead to yet more wasted time and expense.
I am glad that Tory Housing Spokesman, Grant Shapps MP has pledged that a Conservative Government will scrap Home Information Packs outright. After all, if Ministers really wanted to help homeowners, they would use their emergency powers to suspend HIPs and provide a shot in the arm to the ailing market. We should be on the side of Britain’s home owners and the many people who want to move on and up the housing ladder.
From today, extra Home Information Pack (HIP) regulations will hinder sellers from putting their homes on the market, mislead buyers and create a real danger of £200 fines from town hall officials.
The Government is even cancelling the ‘first day marketing’ provision which allowed sellers to market their home if a HIP had been ordered, but had not yet been completed.
Sellers will now have to wait even longer before they can put up a ‘For Sale’ sign. if this were not bad enough - HIPs must have a so-called ‘Property Information Questionnaire’ completed by the seller. The questionnaire is useless, as unscrupulous sellers can sidestep difficult questions that could reduce their house price by ticking a “don’t know” box.
The buyer cannot be certain that the information is reliable about such things as past dry rot or damp, insurance claims, experience of flooding, and whether past alterations had official permission. Honest sellers will also suffer, as disputes over information in Property Information Questionnaires will end up in the courts, with buyers suing sellers.
Town halls have been instructed to “identify specific cases of non-compliance and enforce the requirements” - and start fining homeowners £200 a time if they do not follow the new rules. The Government’s own research has found there is little public knowledge about, or interest in HIPs; that the industry thinks they are a waste of time; that they duplicate costs and that buyers are not bothering to consult HIPs. Ministers have emergency powers under the Housing Act to suspend HIPs, but have refused to use them.
I stongly believe that the introduction of HIPs is a disaster. They have have already damaged the market and discouraged sellers. Now Gordon Brown is making things even worse. You cannot trust the contents of a Home Information Pack, and these regulations will lead to yet more wasted time and expense.
I am glad that Tory Housing Spokesman, Grant Shapps MP has pledged that a Conservative Government will scrap Home Information Packs outright. After all, if Ministers really wanted to help homeowners, they would use their emergency powers to suspend HIPs and provide a shot in the arm to the ailing market. We should be on the side of Britain’s home owners and the many people who want to move on and up the housing ladder.
This article is very timely and relevant. As I quote Cameron Muir, an economist, "Home sales are unlikely to fall much further..That being said we expect home sales not to decline much further."
ReplyDeleteBut it's never too late, with the right business plan set up, it will lead to valuable outcome. This is what most counselors would give as an advise.
I wonder if government ministers have shares or directorships in some of these unworkable schemes they come up with.
ReplyDeleteWell, look at former Chief Whip Hilary Armstrong, working as a consultant to a major recycling company. Is she still refusing to reveal how much she is paid for her role?
What will you replace them with then?
ReplyDeleteA return to the old system of information not being collected until an offer has been accepted, with the attendant prospect of delays, renegiotiations, chain collapses? Just what we need - I think not.
The HIP implementation has been disastrous due to the weakness of the government bringing in half measures, combined with dinosaur attitudes, complacency & plain ignorance on the part of many of the “professionals” involved in the process. But scrapping them is not the solution - they need to be built upon to make them more useful & relevant to the complexities & pitfalls of the home transfer process.
Consider which of the following is better for the proper processing of a transaction:
1. Sellers & buyers negotiate transaction terms with extremely limited information & exchange of contracts is subject to the outcome of further essential investigations.
2. Sellers & buyers negotiate transaction terms with all relevant information about the property available to them.
In my view option 2 is better, especially as, with information & communications technology now available, it is totally feasible.
But I'd be interested to hear the arguments for option 1 (the option we have had to put up with until now).
Richard,
ReplyDeleteIt would have made more sense, in my view, for the government to have made full surveys mandatory. Then all buyers could have confidence in the information provided. That would surely be no more expensive than HIPs plus half surveys, which is what happens now - and the report provided would be accurate. As it is now, unscrupulous sellers can provide evasive and meaningless answers to questions on the HIPs forms. What's the good of that?