Controversy
On 15 May 2007 the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) started Judicial Review proceedings against the Department for Communities and Local Government for what they regarded as the department's failure to carry out a full consultation on HIPs.
Despite the above objections to the HIPs scheme, RICS were already providing courses on Home Inspection and Domestic Energy Assessment, as well as courseware manuals for the professions of Home Inspector & Domestic Energy Assessor.
There were fears that the up-front cost involved may put off some people from putting their house on the market, which may in turn depress the housing market.
The property industry has been largely against these changes. but the government says the new system will leave all homeowners better off.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders reported that their members were not persuaded that the perceived consumer benefits will be achieved. They believed that the forthcoming introduction of e-conveyancing would have a much more positive impact.
The National Association of Estate Agents held the view that the legislation was unnecessary, did not cover the important reasons why home sales and purchase transactions fall through, and that the cost was too high.
Britain's largest independent estate agency, Spicerhaart, initially called for a boycott of the home information packs scheme, although then revised this position to one of full support.
In contrast, the introduction of HIPs was originally supported by Which?, who believe that they could reduce the number of failed transactions resulting from problems that can be identified at an early stage. The organisation has since withdrawn its support following the Government's decision to postpone the introduction of Home Condition Reports.
The Conservative Party, when in Opposition, stated that they planned to scrap the legislation, calling it 'expensive and deficient red tape'. Indeed, Conservative opposition to HIPs was instrumental in a defeat in the House of Lords, where peers voted by 186 to 160 in favour of abandoning the packs. This brought them in conflict with the Association of Home Information Pack Providers' Mike Ockenden.
On 12 May 2010 the incoming Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition government announced an intention to scrap Home Information Packs. The requirement for property sellers to provide HIPs was suspended on 20 May.
Read more about this topic: Home Information Pack
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