NAEA: Govt must review Hips now
Tuesday, 26th August 2008

The government has been urged to review Home Information Packs (Hips) by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) in light of the current financial situation.

It was made clear by the NAEA that the current approach to simplifying the housing process through Hips was ineffective as many searches are out of date by the time of the transaction, making the repetition of the process an added cost to the consumer.

Chief executive of the NAEA Peter Bolton King said that if Hips are to continue, he and "other major stakeholders" would like to see the inclusion of information that is only "of some use", such as a sellers' questionnaire and energy performance certificates being part of a simplified pack.

He added: "The time has come to rectify the situation and come up with a system that works cohesively and efficiently for both buyers and sellers."

Speaking in a statement released by the NAEA last week, Joanna Cobb of Hereford & Worcester described Hips as "still a waste of time".