http://campaigns.direct.gov.uk/homebuying

Housing Minister announces measures to benefit consumers

Housing Minister Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP announced on 8 December a new package of measures to improve and simplify the content of HIPs and ensure consumers can see and use the information at the start of the home buying and selling process. Measures include:

• introduction of a Property Information Questionnaire providing basic, us eful information about a property including a leasehold summary, within HIPs for all properties marketed for sale  from 6 April 2009
• from 1 January 2009 making permanent the current arrangement whereby a copy of the Lease is the only additional requirement in the HIP for leasehold property sales
• the removal of temporary first day marketing from 6 April 2009 which means a basic' HIP must be in place before a property is marketed - providing certainty to consumers that a HIP will be available.  This will not prevent agents advising clients about properties they expect to be coming onto the market
• ending the use of insurance in personal searches from 6 April 2009 so  that consumers receive a better quality product to address the issue of buyers being advised to undertake a 'second search'  as a consequence
• inviting Ted Beardsall, former Deputy Chief Executive of the Land Registry, to convene a working group to consider how property s earches might be made simpler and more easy to use for consumers and
• establishing a working group to explore options for making sure that consumers have appropriate information on property condition, building on work by the Stakeholder Panel to develop market-led models that can be delivered by existing practitioners, including Home Inspectors.

What the Minister says:

Mrs Beckett said:

"Home Information Packs are potentially a vital aid to consumers who are seeking to purchase a home, and I am firmly committed to ensuring they work as well as possible. That is why the changes made today will make sure consumers are better protected, better informed and better assisted when buying a home.

It is essential that all buyers are able to see the HIP as early as possible to ensure they are benefiting and sellers are getting the pack they are paying for".

Read the full text of the Minister's statement at www.communities.gov.uk/statements/corporate
/homebuyingandselling

Communities and Local Government will prepare and communicate advice to help consumers and industry understand and plan for the changes.

Office of Fair Trading launch home buying and selling study

OFT announced on 8 December a market study to look at home buying and selling in terms of:

• competition on price and quality between service providers
• prospects for new entry by, in particular, internet property retailers and
• extent to which consumer interests are protected by the existing regulatory framework.

Ahead of the study OFT will write to key stakeholders to seek views and to discuss the scope and scale of the study, which will commence in early 2009. Further information can be found at homebuyingandselling@oft.gov.uk.

Changes to the Home Information Pack website

The industry side of the Home Information Packs website is moving over to the BusinessLink website at the end of December 2008. BusinessLink aims to help businesses save time and money by providing them with access to clear and simple information. It is developed in partnership with subject experts within government and relevant business support organisations to help businesses comply with regulations and improve performance.

Industry information about HIPs will sit within the Health, Safety & Premises section of the BusinessLink website.

PIQ Review

We have now had time to assess the impacts of the April 6th changes   

We are very pleased with the role out of our PIQ system - many of you are using a hard copy and returning them to us by fax/email but we are also seeing a high degree of success in sending the forms electronically to clients to fill in online. This is clearly the most efficient method of completing this form for all concerned although it does require the seller to have internet access !!

The local authorities have made life as difficult as possible in relation to completing Local Searches but in in general we have been able to use our knowledge and expertise to minimise the extra costs and we believe any increases we have had to implement as a result of the new regulations, are significantly lower than those of our competitors.

We continue to monitor the situation on all fronts and please feel free to give us a much feed back as possible, both good and bad as this will help us improve our service.

Fusion HIPs