HIPs to go within weeks

The Conservatives intend to scrap Home Information Packs is not news. Grant Shapps has been saying this has been saying it to the trade press. The fact that he has suggested that this will be done in a “in a matter of weeks” after coming to power will catch the public and stakeholders in the property industry by surprise.

In an interview with The Times - carried in several other National papers – Shapps says that abolishing HIPs would be his first initiative, should the Conservatives win the election.

The assurance follows claims by many estate agents that the packs are adversely affecting the housing market, as would be sellers regard the cost of HIPs as a disincentive at a time when homeowners are already reluctant to move.

Shapps said: “House prices are rising because supply is restricted. HIPs have not helped. The main priority is to scrap them. They are easy to suspend and there are emergency powers we can use to do so. This can happen very quickly. HIPs will be gone in a matter of weeks.”