HIPs coverage extended again
Author: Josie Allen · Posted: December 17, 2007
From December 14th 2007 Home Information Packs (HIPs) are required to accompany all properties placed on the market, so extending the current requirement covering those with three or more bedrooms. This takes the government’s plans to cover the whole market much closer to completion, though there will still be certain exceptions for a short while:
- Properties already offered for sale before the introduction of HIPs (August 1st 2007) have not required a HIP so long as they have not been taken off the market at any time: the so-called ‘drop dead’ date – at which all such properties will need a HIP – is yet to be fixed.
- New build properties have their own needs according to whether they are built to the most recent building regulations or an earlier version: properties marketed ‘off-plan’ also vary. The aim is that all fully constructed new builds will share the same requirements by April 2008.
It is anticipated that the December 14th extension will bring many more leasehold properties into the requirement, since far more one and two-bedroom homes are likely to be leasehold than is the case with three bedrooms and above. To ease potential problems in securing information relating to leases, the government has changed the current requirement so that only the lease itself is necessary in a HIP. This will last for a projected five months, after which other lease information covered by the legislation will also be required.
Richard Harris, Property Partner at Ownerpack co-founder Holmes & Hills, see the latest change meaning a shift in focus for HIPs providers.
‘The move towards total market coverage simplifies matters in some respects but also leaves some complexities in the approach. HIPs providers need to be fully briefed on what is required so that they can provide appropriate guidance to home owners and estate agents. While much has been made of the cost factors in the introduction of HIPs, the need to be compliant with the phased introduction of legislation is focusing matters much more on how well relationships work.
‘Ownerpack, developed and operated by local property professionals, was devised very much as a relationship item, with the three-way dealings between home owner, selling estate agent and HIP provider at its heart. We have already commissioned over 100 Ownerpack HIPs on behalf of owners in the region and provided through estate agents operating locally. We see this as proof that our relationship approach has recognised value in a complex situation.’