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HIPs have been suspended

Property News:

20th May 2010
HIPs have been suspended from 21 May 2010
More >>

1. You must have a completed HIP before putting your house up for sale
2. You must include a Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ)

The Home Information Pack (also known as the HIP) is compulsory for most homes on the market in England and Wales. From 6 April 2009, important changes will be made to HIPs. This means better information will be available from the first day a property is put on the market. Read more >>

Housing Minister Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP announced on 8 December a new package of measures to improve and simplify the content of HIPs and ensure consumers can see and use the information at the start of the home buying and selling process. Measures include:

• introduction of a Property Information Questionnaire providing basic, us eful information about a property including a leasehold summary, within HIPs for all properties marketed for sale from 6 April 2009
• from 1 January 2009 making permanent the current arrangement whereby a copy of the Lease is the only additional requirement in the HIP for leasehold property sales
• the removal of temporary first day marketing from 6 April 2009 which means a basic' HIP must be in place before a property is marketed - providing certainty to consumers that a HIP will be available. This will not prevent agents advising clients about properties they expect to be coming onto the market
• ending the use of insurance in personal searches from 6 April 2009 so that consumers receive a better quality product to address the issue of buyers being advised to undertake a 'second search' as a consequence
• inviting Ted Beardsall, former Deputy Chief Executive of the Land Registry, to convene a working group to consider how property s earches might be made simpler and more easy to use for consumers and
• · establishing a working group to explore options for making sure that consumers have appropriate information on property condition, building on work by the Stakeholder Panel to develop market-led models that can be delivered by existing practitioners, including Home InspectorsWhat the Minister says

Mrs Beckett said:

• "Home Information Packs are potentially a vital aid to consumers who are seeking to purchase a home, and I am firmly committed to ensuring they work as well as possible. That is why the changes made today will make sure consumers are better protected, better informed and better assisted when buying a home.
• It is essential that all buyers are able to see the HIP as early as possible to ensure they are benefiting and sellers are getting the pack they are paying for".

Read the full text of the Minister's statement at
www.communities.gov.uk/statements/corporate/homebuyingandselling

OFT announced on 8 December a market study to look at home buying and selling in terms of:

• competition on price and quality between service providers
• prospects for new entry by, in particular, internet property retailers and
• extent to which consumer interests are protected by the existing regulatory framework

Ahead of the study OFT will write to key stakeholders to seek views and to discuss the scope and scale of the study, which will commence in early 2009. Further information from homebuyingandselling@oft.gov.uk.

UK government announce £1bn measures to help first-time buyers and buyers at the lower end of the market - inc zero stamp duty on properties up to £175,000. More >>

All properties being marketed in England and Wales must have a Home Information Pack and it is the responsibility of the seller to acquire one before placing the property on the market. More >>

Take a look at our section on Buying & Selling property in the UK with lots of resources and web links for home buyers and sellers including information about the Home Information Packs (HIPs).

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