Home Information Packs Officially Suspended as of Today

The Coalition government has officially suspended the use of Home Information Packs (HIPs) as of today.

First introduced in 2007 in England and Wales, HIPs were supposed to speed up the house selling process by obliging sellers to provide much of the required conveyancing information when properties are first put up for sale.

The packs are paid for by vendors before putting their property on the market.  The packs contain property information, title deeds, an energy performance report and local searches.

Today the BBC quoted the new Housing Minister Grant Shapps, "Today the new government is ensuring that home information packs are history,".

"By suspending home information packs today, it means that home sellers will be able to get on with marketing their home without having to shell out hundreds of pounds upfront.

"We are committed to greener housing so from now on all that will be required will be a simple energy performance certificate," he added. 

Although the coalition are eager to point out their green credentials, the reason that the new government has not be able to scrap the Energy Performance Report element of HIPs is due to EU regulation.  

If you have been thinking about listing your house for sale, now you can list your property without the need for paying the upfront cost of a Home Information Pack.  Call now to request your free valuation on 0208 840 6666 or request your valuation online by clicking here.