8th December
2008
Trevor Kent former President of the
National Association of Estate Agents and one of the most vocal
critics of Home Information Packs reacted with astonishment today to
Housing Minister Margaret Beckett's long awaited statement on HIPs.
"When the whole of the home-sale
industry has repeatedly castigated the government over both the nature
and implementation of HIPs, I am deeply saddened that the new
Minister's arrival at The Department of Communities and Local
Government has not produced the hoped for root and branch reform of
this idiotic legislation. Far be it from recognising the clamour
from all directions calling for withdrawal of HIPs, she intends
to make them more draconian still" says
Trevor Kent.
Presently a home can be put on the
market as soon as a HIP has been ordered (and paid for at
an average cost of £300)
"Today, Margaret Beckett
has announced that from April qualifying HIP documents will
actually have to be back in the sellers' hands before marketing
can commence. So
when, as Grant Shapps her Conservative shadow so accurately put
it today 'the housing market is on its knees', she seeks to
effectively take properties off the market for two weeks."continues
Kent, "and, not content with imposing a marketing
delay she has told Trading Standards Officers
to be pro-active in fining owners or their agents £200 if they
are caught out advertising or putting a board up before the forms
are delivered".
The Minister's statement has also announced
that yet another form, the 'Property Information Questionnaire
will be added to the HIP and must be compiled by
sellers pre-marketing, Leasehold owners will find it
particularly difficult to complete without legal help. "The
Minister says that under her new arrangements owners will be able to
start marketing 'within three to five days' - well as a practicing
estate agent myself, I have found that it takes eight to ten days to
get the documents, and anyway why force sellers to delay even a
minute's marketing, just to wait for parts of a HIP to
come back that their buyers will not even bother to look
at?"
TREVOR KENT is former
president of the National Association of Estate Agents
07967 990967
