Govt in Hips U-turn
May 23, 2007 by admin
Filed under News, News-Mortgages
The government yesterday (May 22nd) announced that the introduction of Home Information Packs (Hips) will be delayed.
In what has been described by Tory MPs as a “humiliating climb-down”, communities secretary Ruth Kelly told the House of Commons that Hips would not come into force on June 1st as previously promised.
She was jeered and laughed at by opposition MPs as she confessed that the training of people to carry out Energy Performance Certificate inspections had not gone to plan and would fall woefully short of the target number by June 1st.
This came despite promises to the contrary just days earlier and led Liberal Democrat spokesman Andrew Stunell to lambaste the government for its “complete incompetence”.
“This piecemeal implementation of this jinxed scheme will result in yet more confusion for buyers and sellers,” he added.
Ms Kelly said that Hips would eventually be phased in from August 1st but would initially only apply to houses with four or more bedrooms.
The minister also claimed that the new measures would give “clarity to everyone about the next steps” and remove uncertainty for mortgage holders.
The government back down also comes on the back of a legal challenge by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) which said its Judicial Review had been ’stayed’ but could be reactivated.
“We will be examining the new proposals in detail and will continue to work in the public interest on home buying reform and climate change,” said Jeremy Leaf Rics housing spokesman.
