Are HIPs Happening?

The implementation of Home Information Packs ? or HIPs as they are more commonly known ? appears to be in a state of limbo.

Lauded as the best thing since sliced bread when they were first announced, their future seems certain one minute and hanging in the balance the next.

The latest confusion surrounds the fact that HIPs are only mandatory when selling a home with three bedrooms or more, and that no date for their introduction for all homes has been set.

So just what is going on?
The story began back in 2002, when the EU passed European Union Directive 2002/91/EC, which set rules on the energy performance of buildings, one of which was the introduction of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs).

The UK Government introduced EPCs as part of the Housing Act 2004 and originally planned to introduce them on 1 June this year.

In addition to the EPC, the Labour Government also saw fit to introduce the HIP; designed to give homebuyers additional information about a property and make the home buying process easier.

Prior to the official launch of HIPs, Westminster argued extensively about their introduction - due to opposition from the Conservative Party - but the Government seemed determined to make HIPs a reality and also had the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) to back them up.

The whole thing seemed to be going well but, of course, the best laid plans of mice and ministers often go awry and, in May 2007, disaster struck the HIPs community.

On the 22nd of that month, the then housing minister Ruth Kelly, told the House of Commons that Hips were to be delayed until 1 August due to a lack of trained energy assessors.

As if this news wasn?t bad enough, the shortage of available energy assessors was thought to be so severe that HIPs would be introduced in stages, starting with homes of four bedrooms or more.

The weeks that followed were filled with one-upmanship as the Tories told Labour to simply drop the policy, while AHIPP turned against the Government demanding they speed up implementation. In addition, the Association also claimed there were enough assessors to cope with demand.

The 1 August launch was quickly pounced on by the scheme?s critics, with Abbey saying most people were reclassifying their home to avoid the packs, while the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) said HIPs would damage the UK housing market.

On 10 September, HIPs were introduced for all three bedroom properties, the bulk of UK housing stock, and the full rollout of the scheme was expected before the end of 2007.

However (this is getting tiresome now, isn?t it?) a smooth rollout wouldn?t have been in keeping with the epic story of the HIP and, in mid-September, one of the UK?s largest mortgage lenders - who needs no introduction - almost collapsed as banks around the world became worried about bad mortgage loans.

Following the ?credit crunch?, ministers felt it prudent to delay the introduction of HIPs for all homes until financial markets had calmed down, much to the dismay of AHIPP.

So the tale of the Home Information Pack has gone full circle, with current argument again surrounding whether the scheme should simply be abandoned or rolled out in full, just as was seen in early 2007.

The debate over HIPs continues and just today, a HIP service provider has slammed the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) for suggesting the rollout of HIPs on smaller properties would price first time buyers out of the market.

Each side in this saga has its own reasons for liking or disliking HIPs and the arguments are likely to continue long after HIPs become a reality for all homes.

However, the sides do share one sentiment: the half-hearted implementation of HIPs is not doing anyone any good.

For further information on HIPs, please contact the HIPs Team on 01903 777687 or e-mail HIPS@bennett-griffin.co.uk