CML urges Government to think hard on HIPs

The Council of Mortgage Lenders welcomes today's eleventh-hour announcement by the government that the implementation of home information packs will be delayed. But it continues to urge the Government to consider the best way of moving forward.

The CML - along with other industry organisations - has repeatedly warned the government that there were too many uncertainties to be able to introduce HIPs with any confidence on 1 June.

The government has conceded in dribs and drabs, initially by announcing a U-turn last summer on compulsory home condition reports, and followed earlier this year by concessions relating to the compulsory inclusion of search information at the outset of marketing.

The CML's data suggests that 17% of owner-occupied homes have four or more bedrooms, and will therefore require a HIP under the government's revised proposals.

Commenting on the announcement, CML Director General Michael Coogan said: "Today's hasty announcement marks the latest in a series of climbdowns and opportunistic amendments. This cannot be an appropriate way to make policy.

"We support energy improvement measures. But, in our view, HIPs are not a prerequisite for delivering the green agenda. With the fundamental lack of confidence that now exists in them, we urge the government to ditch the gold-plating and concentrate on better ways of delivering its objectives."