HIPs don't swing

Commenting on tomorrow's HIPs launch, Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at price comparison website moneysupermarket.com, said: “The current Home Information Pack incarnation is spineless and futile.

“The delay and amendments to HIPs have simply added further confusion to an already chaotic system. It is a poorly thought-out piece of legislation. The Government should bite the bullet and admit, in the current format, HIPs are a disaster.

“The fact HIPs are only applicable to houses of four or more bedrooms has been the straw that broke this camel’s back. Such a rule is utterly unenforceable and negates any value that could have been wrung from such a fiasco. One of the changes to the housing market that will come from this process will be the large numbers of three bed houses on offer with an upstairs study, reading room or dressing room!

“The concept behind HIPs was plausible, but since watering down the legislation it has become nothing but a political slurry. The idea behind HIPs needs a complete overhaul, focusing on each report and treating it as a separate issue rather than this ludicrous blanket approach.”