Countdown to HIPS gets underway

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has started the countdown to the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPS) saying that the detail expected over the next month will be crucial in determining how effective the implementation will be.

CML’s members’ opinions on HIPS vary, but the organisation said that “lenders collectively recognise that what the government hopes to achieve through a combination of HIPs and e-conveyancing is a set of reforms to speed up transactions and reduce wasted costs, for the benefit of consumers”.

The CML added that in the next month, details of regulations covering the contents of the packs, business and technical standards (including complaints and redress), and information about the government’s forthcoming baseline research to examine the current market ? should make it easier for the professionals involved in the housing market to assess whether they agree.

Commenting on the brink of the “year to go” point, CML Director General Michael Coogan said: “The government is determined that HIPs will become compulsory in a year’s time. This timescale may be achievable, although it is very challenging.

Over the next month the government is due to publish a detailed range of implementation information. Reactions to this will help to determine whether any delays are likely to emerge.

Over the next month we also expect to get findings from our own research on lenders’ valuation practices and the influence that HIPs (in particular home condition reports) may exert.

Taken together with the impact assessment that the government has now announced it is undertaking, this will help us to form a clearer view about how HIPs will influence the market. We only expect the full effect of HIPs on the mortgage lending market to become apparent over time, rather than on day one of implementation.”