Home information packs initiative shelved |
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Wed, 19 Jul 2006 13:00
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LONDON - The government’s plans to introduce £1,000 home information packs from next year has been shelved amid concern that the high-cost packs may cause havoc in the property market. The government announced that local leaders had told them that it was almost impossible to enforce the scheme and hence it was being shelved.
"There would be significant risks and potential disadvantages to consumers from a mandatory 'big bang' introduction of full home condition reports on June 1 2007," said housing minister, Yvette Cooper. She added that the estimated 7,000 new home inspectors required to enforce the packs would not be in place by June next year and hence the scheme was now voluntary and not mandatory.
"Further testing is needed to ensure Home Condition Reports deliver the assumed benefits for consumers and that the operating systems that support them work smoothly," she said. "The remaining aspects of Home Condition Reports [excluding energy performance certificates] will not be made mandatory from June. Mandatory HCRs will remain on the table if the industry fails to make a success of the roll-out of HCRs."
Critics of the scheme, which was launched by John Prescott, said that the step to ditch it was long overdue. "The government's ongoing plans for home information packs are now a complete shambles ... it should abandon the whole scheme and consult afresh," said Tory shadow housing minister, Michael Gove. He added that the packs were "expensive and deficient red tape".
But the announcement has not been well received by the companies who had begun training the home inspectors. "We are very disappointed. We did not expect this and we don't think it is necessary. Our research found that 85% of the consumers said they wanted a home condition report as part of the pack," said Paul Brandwood, of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers.
The consumer group Which? sent a letter saying that it would not support the new half-HIP. "The homebuyer was looking to the government to hold firm in the face of criticism from the estate agents," said Nick Stace, campaigns and communications director. "Instead, the government has shown its house is made of straw. The new 'half-HIP' will be a useless but very expensive waste of time."
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HIPs mandatory from 1st June 2007 for house sales 