Final stage of home information pack roll-out delayed

The Government was called on to abandon its controversial Home Information Packs after announcing a delay to their final roll-out.

Communities and Local Government said it was delaying until the end of the year the requirement for homeowners to have one of the packs before they start marketing their property.

Homeowners in England and Wales are currently allowed to begin marketing their property as soon as they have ordered a Home Information Pack (Hip), but the Government previously said that from June 1 they would not be able to put their home up for sale until they had a pack.

Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps said the move showed that the packs were not working and urged the Government to abolish them completely.

He said: "This latest Hips delay is the third time that the Government has had to admit that this botched initiative can never work. The time has surely come for Brown to do one of his famous U-turns and scrap Hips once and for all."

Hips aim to speed up the home buying and selling process by giving consumers more of the information they need up front.

But the packs have been dogged by delays and controversy, with their original implementation delayed for two months and a House of Lords committee finding that the Government had failed to show they were sensible or worthwhile.

They were finally introduced for homes of all sizes in England and Wales in December last year. But while the latest delay was criticised by the Conservatives, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors welcomed the move in the current housing market slowdown.

RICS spokesman James Scott-Lee said; "RICS is pleased to see the Government is taking a pragmatic approach to enable people to get their property on to the market without having to wait for a Hip.

"In current market conditions it is essential to avoid anything which restricts a homeowner's ability to market their property when they choose."