HIPs Trial to be Extended

Home information packs (Hips) are set to be rolled-out in a further 12 locations, following successful trials in six cities across the country.

Some 90 local businesses, including estate agents, pack providers and home inspectors, have supported the initial phase of the trial, which started on November 6th and aimed to provide a simpler and more efficient home transaction process.

The Government began piloting the scheme in six areas around the UK earlier this month with the Association of Home Information Pack Providers.

The packs, which will become mandatory from next June, provide potential homebuyers with information and an energy efficiency report.

They are aimed cutting the number of homebuying transactions which fail late in the day, but opponents claim that the system will lead to additional costs.

They also claim HIPs would be of little benefit, especially after the Government announced that home condition reports would only be included on a voluntary basis.

Despite these objections, the providers' association will now extend the scope of the original trial independently, to include the M4 corridor, Manchester, Cardiff, Coventry, Hereford and the Marches, Bristol, Leicester, Chelmsford, Nottingham, Plymouth, Liverpool and the Thames corridor.

Opponents called into question the objectivity of the dry run trial.
Nick Salmon, head of Splinta, a campaign group opposing the introduction of HIPs, said: "The key thing to note is it is not a trial. It is a soft roll out of HIPs to avoid a big bang next year."

Shadow housing Minister Michael Gove said the Government was already spending £4m of taxpayers' money to provide "incentives" for consumers to use packs in the six locations. Increasing the trial to 12 locations could result in more money being wasted.