Foxtons news

The packs will now be launched on 1st August and initially only apply to properties with four or more bedrooms. At the time of publication there is no timetable for the introduction of the scheme for other properties.

The HIPs debate

The government's decision to introduce HIPs has attracted widespread criticism from many professional bodies including the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and the Law Society.

It is generally recognised that the property sector was not adequately consulted and that insufficient time had been allocated to prepare the industry to produce these documents in a cost effective way for their clients - the sellers.

One major problem concerning HIPs is that any time sensitive documents from the pack, including searches will be out of date by the time that a sale is completed for example many lenders and lawyers will refuse to accept a search that is more than six weeks old.

The cost of introducing HIPs, which will inevitably be borne by the consumer, is also likely to be considerable with some reports suggesting it will run into hundreds of millions and that it could reach £4.7bn by 2020.

No Need

A central component of the HIPs is the Energy Performance Certificate, but it still remains unclear, according to the House of Lords, whether the government is implementing the EU directive on this matter in the most appropriate way.While we do not oppose steps to help homeowners improve their energy efficiency, we do question whether this needs to be a direct part of the buying process.

As the situation currently stands, HIPs do not seem to be the most cost effective means of introducing this measure. Some elements of HIPs duplicate costs already borne by consumers.

Documents such as local authority searches and land registry are paid for through local taxes. It would seem fair and sensible to make this information available online at no additional cost. If local authority searches and land registry details were made available online, Foxtons could download them and make them easily accessible on our website alongside any other relevant information available relating to our clients' properties.

The inclusion of copies of leases and deeds within HIPs also seems a little odd. These are likely to be of little direct use to consumers, as they will still have to employ solicitors to analyse and advise on whether the title has any flaws. Although we accept that there may be some benefit in having this information in advance of making an offer, we do not think the vast majority of purchasers will be interested in the many pages of legal statements made available in the pack.

Reassurance from Foxtons

We hope the government takes the opportunity of this delay in introducing the scheme to comprehensively review the composition and charging framework for HIPs. The scheme appears to have been ill-thought out and a comprehensive review appears the most sensible way forward.

At Foxtons we have always put the interests of our clients first. We have plans and procedures in place to ensure that the process of buying and selling remains as smooth and as straightforward as possible no matter what decisions are made over the coming months. We are prepared!