The HIP honeymoon maybe over shortly

Posted by the Property team on 15th October 2007

Knight Frank Estate Agents has said that the roll-out of Home information packs (HIPS) has been relatively smooth thus far but warned that this state of affairs will likely not last for long.

The property consultancy has advised that a change in regulations, due to come into force on January 1st, will mean that sellers must have a Hip in place before they can market a home with three or more bedrooms.

Currently those looking to enter the market need only to have applied for a pack before they are allowed to put their UK property up for sale, but Knight Frank says that the new requirements are likely to frustrate sellers.

“Once the request and payment is received, it is processed and can take two to three weeks to be returned. Included in the Hip is a local authority search, and these can take a month or more to come back,” commented Tom Woods, Hip expert at Knight Frank Winchester.

“This isn?t slowing anything up at the moment because we can market the property anyway, but in 2008 it will be illegal for a property to be brought to market without a completed pack,” Mr Woods added.

The government has yet to announce when the Hips roll-out will be extended to cover one and two-bed properties, a delay that attracted the ire of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers last week.
For information on HIP’s, please call our HIP Team on 01903 777687 or alternatively, e-mail hips@bennett-griffin.co.uk.