Home information pack trial locations unveiled

Monday, 14 August 2006 12:00 AM

Home information packs (HIPs) are set to be introduced on a voluntary basis in six English locations.

The packs, including the home condition report (HCR), will be available to house sellers in Southampton, Newcastle, Northampton, Bath, Huddersfield and Cambridge from November.

The trials will be designed to test the benefits of home information packs and resolve any glitches ahead of their mandatory roll-out in June 2007.

Last month the government announced that the home condition report - a mini survey of a property carried out by a home inspector - would no longer be a compulsory part of the packs when they are introduced next year.

But anyone who puts their house on the market after June 1st 2007 will still be required to have a home information pack containing legal documents required for the sale of a home, and a fridge-style rating of its energy efficiency.

"After detailed discussions with our members we have selected the first six locations which we believe offer a good mix of housing stock and will offer a fair representation in terms of both supply and demand," said Paul Broadhead, deputy director general of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP).

"This is the first phase of our roll out with additional locations to be introduced at a later date.

"While this is an AHIPP roll out, independent of government intervention, we will also be happy to work with government to further introduce packs in their chosen locations early in 2007, once these have been identified."

Although home information pack providers have described the government's shelving of the home condition report as "spineless and unnecessary" they believe there is still official support for the mandatory roll out of the packs in future.

"The government has clearly indicated that it very much supports HIPs and values the HCR as a vital element of the pack," Mr Broadhead added.

"It plans to announce funding available for the voluntary take up of packs in September and it is now vital that a date for this is set to assist our members in their planning and to ensure optimum use of HCRs across the six locations."

The shelving of the home condition report by the government followed widespread opposition both politically and from some quarters of the property industry.

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