Government introduces Hips regulations

Posted: 30 Mar 2007 11:36:46 GMT

The government has introduced its home information packs (Hips) regulations in parliament, which will come into force on June 1st.

The government has introduced its home information packs (Hips) regulations in parliament, which will come into force on June 1st.

Several changes are included in the regulations following the launch of a consultation process in January, which brought feedback on various issues from industry stakeholders, Certus Mortgages reports.

These include properties on the market before June 1st not requiting a Hip unless they are still on the market after 31st December, while the duty to refresh time-sensitive aspects of the Hip will not be the responsibility of the seller if they re-market the house less than a year after the date it was first marketed.

Dominic Toller, director of marketing and new business at Hip provider LMS, told Certus: "These regulations demonstrate the government’s total commitment to HIPs and we are delighted the Department for Communities and Local Government is sticking to its guns in seeing HIPs introduced."

Estate agents marketing homes with the packs after June 1st will have to be registered with the Ombudsman for Estate Agents (OEA) scheme, the head of the body has warned, Citywire reports.

OEA chairman Bill McClintock said there was no excuse for estate agents to avoid joining, stating "the public is entitled to enjoy full OEA protection" when buying homes.


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