Buy-to-let
It has launched a new campaign attacking what it describes as Labours dodgy HIPs.
From 1 June 2007 sellers will have to pay for a HIP which will include a Home Condition Report a mid-range survey which will include information on energy efficiency, local authority searches, title deeds and guarantees for building work.
HIPs are designed to make the homebuying process much simpler and ensure that fewer sales fall through when a survey reveals problems.
Government statistics show that over a quarter of sales now fall through once an offer is accepted and half of those do so because of problems arising from a survey.
Kate Faulkner, author of the Which? guide Buy, Sell and Move House, says: “The HIP ought to make buying a property a more efficient process, and reduce the astonishing failure rate that means a third of accepted offers come to nothing in the end.
“Fewer failed transactions means less wasted money. So they’re going to save people cash as well as time and effort.”
But the Tories are criticising the cost of the pack, which industry experts expect to be around £1,000.
Michael Grove MP, shadow minister for Housing & Planning said: If people trust these dodgy HIPs, I fear they will be lulled into a false sense of security. If they dont and commission their own survey, costs will be duplicated.
Channel4 presenter Kirsty Allsopp, who is backing the campaign says: Moving home is one of the most stressful things anyone can do; I fear this new system will make it worse, not better. Rather than protecting consumers, these Sellers Packs threaten the stability and health of the housing market.
The Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) is hitting back by claiming that the Tories plans to scrap the Packs is plain politicking.
The Packs will contain an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which outlines the energy costs involved in running a property (an EU directive states that by 2009 every house that goes on the market should have an EPC).
The cost of including the EPC in the HIP equates to around £50 per home a saving of around £200 per house.
David Ockenden, director general of AHIPP says: What puzzles me is that despite continuous claims from David Cameron that his party has a strong environmental focus he is refusing to support the introduction of HIPs which serve the green agenda.
Further to this HIPs will not only reduce the number of failed transactions, they will speed up the process, save consumers money and encourage energy efficiency. Why the Tories do not seem to understand this is entirely beyond me.
