Hips introduction 'likely to be delayed'

04-Sep-2006

Breaking First Time Buyer News from FirstRungNow: First time buyers are likely to see delays to the compulsory introduction of home information packs (Hips).

The packs, which are intended to help first time buyers by providing more information about a property, will not be introduced in June as planned, Jeremy Leaf, a senior member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, has claimed.

Mr Leaf told BBC Radio 4's Money Box it is "almost inconceivable" that Hips would be launched by June.

Delays will come on the back of recent announcements that the Home Condition Report will not form part of the Hip, Mr Leaf asserted.

"It was always felt that the Home Condition Report was the most important aspect of the home buyer's reform," he continued.

"In lots of ways we feel it's now fundamentally flawed. The way the government is working at the moment, there's a no real chance of having this ready by June next year."

Hips are intended to simplify the buying and selling process by providing property information such as searches, copies of deeds and information regarding energy efficiency.

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