Government’s consumer HIPS campaign too little, too late

With just under eight weeks to go until the mandatory roll-out of Home Information Packs (HIPs), only 20% of consumers have seen the Government’s adverts intended to inform consumers of their arrival on 1 June, according to a survey conducted by hips.co.uk, the Home Information Packs Provider division of Spicerhaart.

The survey of homebuyers and sellers shows that it is now vital that the Government’s campaign is more vigorously implemented to ensure that sellers are aware of their requirements.

The industry has had a long time to prepare for the introduction of HIPs, yet 45% of consumers remain unaware of the new legislation and what the packs will contain.

HIPs will involve an added cost for home sellers and will require them to provide a pack comprising a report on title and an Energy Performance Certificate before the house can be put on the market. To avoid the cost of the new legislation, 24% of the homebuyers questioned stated that they were selling their property now, prior to the introduction date.

Stephen Nation, managing director of hips.co.uk comments: “Even though it is a matter of weeks until HIPs are here, the Government has only just begun its consumer campaign. The process of informing the public is an enormous task and the marketing and PR campaign are not proving aggressive enough to achieve this aim. The Government has also taken its time publishing the final regulations, outlining the finer details required in a pack. It could be a case of too little, too late.”

Estate agents will play a key role in informing the public when HIPs become compulsory and will be at the forefront of the implementation of the pack. While hips.co.uk is ready to roll out the packs in June to its Spicerhaart agents it believes that there is also still a great sense of confusion within the industry.

Stephen Nation continues: “The Spicerhaart Group has embraced the concept of HIPs and invested in the technology and required resources to be at the forefront of our profession. With the introduction of hips.co.uk, Spicerhaart is now in the position to provide a fully integrated service for homebuyers and sellers, which includes estate agency, financial and surveying services, as well as providing home information packs.”