Home Information Packs Suspended
Posted on 24th May 2010
Home Information Packs (Hips) have been suspended by the government with immediate effect pending legislation for their permanent abolition.
Communities secretary Eric Pickles, who made the announcement alongside housing minister Grant Shapps, said that the packs had acted like a "drag anchor" on the residential property market and their suspension would encourage more people thinking of selling up to take the plunge.
Hips comprised a range of documents, such as Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and Property Information Questionnaires, intended to provide potential buyers with essential details about a home.
Under the new arrangements, sellers will still have to commission an EPC but they will not have to have it in place before their property goes on the market, Mr. Pickles said.
He added that the removal of Hips would save home owners around £870 million over the next decade.
The suspension of the packs was welcomed by Gillian Charlesworth of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
"There is now the opportunity to start again with a clean slate and come up with innovative proposals to reform the system," she said.