Home information packs go back to Lords

The Upper House will be urged to back the governments plan making homeowners spend between £500 and £1000 on home information packs (hips) before they can market their property for sale.

The move was resisted by peers during an earlier stage of the housing bill, but was subsequently overturned by MPs last week, by a majority of 292 to 148.

Conservative in the Upper House warned that making the introduction of home information packs (hips) compulsory was akin to a new “poll tax” on house moving, and also added that it would do nothing to cut the risk of property chains collapsing.

The issue will be high on the agenda when the bill returns to the Lords today, but with only three days to go before the end of the current parliamentary session, time is of the essence.

Trevor Kent, a former president of the National Association of Estate Agents said: “I’m concerned the scheme would make a select number of providers of home information packs very rich, but would have a negative impact on everyone else involved in selling a property…….It has been my concern from the earliest days on this that the government will create a monopoly in the housing market, which will be of detriment in every way to the public, but will make a fortune for one or two specialist providers who will dominate the market."