Final stage of home packs delayed

Even the smallest property must have a Hip once it is up for sale

Homeowners in England and Wales have been given extra time to comply with the final rules for Home Information Packs (Hips).

The government has delayed until the end of the year the requirement that Hips should be ready before a property goes up for sale.

It means homes can continue to be sold, so long as a Hip has been ordered and paid for.

The original plan was for prepared Hips to be compulsory from 1 June.

On Wednesday, the government had dismissed rumours of this late change of heart as "speculation".

Leases

Hips were introduced gradually in England and Wales from August 2007 after a long history stretching back to 1997.

The original aim was to speed up the house buying process and to remove much of the opportunity for gazumping.

This would be done by ensuring that potential buyers were provided with much of the essential information they needed to buy a house, right from the start of the process.

However, the purpose of Hips was altered subsequently, with the requirement for a form of survey, known as a home condition report, being dropped.

Instead the government decided to emphasise that the main purpose of the new sale packs was to ensure that all houses being put up for sale had an energy efficiency rating.

Currently Hips must contain evidence to prove that the seller owns the property, the basic terms of the sale and answers to standard questions. An energy efficiency rating must be included as well.

The government has also delayed until the end of the year the requirement that additional information about leases, such as service charges, should be included in a Hip if the property is leasehold.