NAEA launch e-petition to scrap Home Info Packs

Estate agents yesterday called on the public to help get rid of Home Information Packs (Hips), which every seller will have to have before a property is marketed for sale.
The packs are due to come into effect on 1st June 2007 and are likely to cost £300-£400 each, but an e-petition launched by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) against HIPs received an overwhelming response and attracted more than 2,500 signatures just 24 hours after being announced.
With a large number of estate agents uncommitted to the Hips ethos, the NAEA is now asking the general public to give their backing to the petition.
The e-petition, registered on the 10 Downing Street website, urges the Government to accept the NAEA's concerns about the HIP legislation and the likely effect on the housing market and the economy.
The association calls for the relevant section of the Housing Act to be repealed and asks the Government to discuss more relevant ways of improving the house buying and selling process.

Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the association, said, "Ultimately, we are all working towards the same goal - the improvement of the home buying and selling process.
"The Government's current plans for HIPs however will not achieve this. Problems with the proposals as they stand have been apparent for some time now. Concerns are shared by a number of other respected bodies, including The Law Society, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and the Council of Mortgage Lenders and yet the Government is intent on not listening to the sound advice on offer."
The NAEA's concerns over the HIP plans are that the lack of ability to market a property without an HIP will reduce the supply of houses available. This in turn will lead to higher prices, it said.
The association said there was evidence that the Land Registry's e-conveyancing proposals would speed up the home buying and selling process, making HIPs redundant in this area.
And it added that energy performance certificates are the only part that will add value and can easily be dealt with outside HIPs, while the voluntary nature of the Home Condition Report will create an uneven playing field in the market.