Hips View That Swings The Other Way

Today, just for the benefit of anyone who had been away on a canoeing trip and had lost their memory, the Department for Communities and Local Government issued a reminder that there are just three days to go until the final roll-out of the controversial home information pack (Hips) scheme is complete.

Not, of course, that anyone concerned with the housing industry will have forgotten. As well as the strongly-held views of the government and Hips providers on the one hand and the Conservatives and organisations such as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) on the other, the final proof of how the measure will affect the housing market can only be assessed fully once all homes are covered.

Thus the roll-out which began on August 1st with homes containing four or more bedrooms will be completed this week as one and two-bedroom properties are added to the list. Rumours (whether true or not) that sales figures have been distorted by deliberately inaccurate claims by homeowners about the number of bedrooms to avoid paying for Hips will no longer be relevant. The full facts can emerge.

Property investors will have an eye on developments, partly because they may be buying or selling their own homes at some stage in the future but also because any affect on the property market, negative or positive, may have a knock-on effect on the demand for rented property.

Of course, were the Conservatives to get their way, which would first require the winning of an election which may be as late as 2010, they would scrap Hips. Last week the party announced a review of the housing market but remained committed to abolition of this particular measure. In response, the deputy director general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (Ahipp), Mike Ockenden, said taking such a view before the review was "premature".

Using the opportunity to defend and advocate Hips, Mr Ockended stated: "Claims that HIPs are of little benefit to buyers are simply untrue. HIPs are the first, vital step of home-buying reform, set to speed up the process and make it more transparent, as well as aid first time buyers in getting onto the ladder."

While Ahipp is by definition a supporter of Hips, many estate agents are strongly opposed. But one such firm, Ludlow Thompson, has become convinced that the measure will be beneficial if the agents are good at their job.

Director Stephen Ludlow said: "The reality is that the better agents will find a solution to the problem," adding that the claim that speculative sellers will be put off putting their house on the market by the cost of the packs (an argument from Rics) had a simple solution: "In our instance, we offer a Hip for no charge."

Mr Ludlow added: "When a property goes on the market, from a buyer's perspective - and for the seller, really - it's a much clearer transaction because you don't have to go through the conveyancing process that perhaps could cause problems later on."

With issues such as the credit crunch, supply issues and interest rates all having an impact on the property market and thus, by consequence, on the rental sector, the fortunes of the property market in 2008 will not be all about Hips. But more than a little of how things work out may depend on how estate agents get on with the job of dealing with them. Love them or loathe them, Hips are now upon us.

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