HIPS Association attacks Conservative leader over comments

The Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) has responded to Conservative leader David Cameron's pledge that the Party would axe Home Information Packs (HIPs) if they won the next General Election.

Paul Broadhead, deputy general of AHIPP, said: "The Conservatives are wrong to say that Home Information Packs (HIPs) will not improve the house buying and selling process and plain mad to state that they will not help first-time buyers - the group most likely to benefit the most from HIPs."

AHIPP was responding to a speech made to first-time buyers last week by Cameron. The Conservative leader promised that if elected to power he would scrap the "costly" Home Information Packs being introduced into house sales by the Labour government, while also looking at ways to prevent the tax system penalising home ownership.

David Cameron also said more needs to be done to help FTBs and said "everyone should have the right to own their own home".

Describing wider home ownership as a matter of social justice, the Conservative leader has promoted plans to remove barriers preventing people from putting a foot on the housing ladder, with the construction of more affordable, attractive, eco-friendly new homes

But Broadhead continued: "First-time buyers will be in a much stronger position after the introduction of compulsory HIPs. With the responsibility for surveys and searches shifted to the seller, the hidden additional costs of buying a home will be significantly reduced. In addition, all the essential information about a property will be available up front, cutting the number of sales that fall through once a survey has been undertaken and ensuring that first time buyers know exactly what they are committing to, right down to the energy efficiency of the property.

"It is unclear how the Conservatives would suggest replacing HIPs but their continuing unconstructive and misguided criticisms of the plans would indicate that they do not wish the housing market to evolve into an open and fairer system for all and would prefer that it remains in its current state, in desperate need of improvement."