HIP - Home Information Pack

Two thirds of the public interviewed haven't heard of Home Information Packs, according to a new study carried out by ICM. And only one in three of those who have heard of HIPs realise that HIPS will contain legal documents such as the title documents and local searches.

Homeowners will face chaos and hundreds of pounds in fines when Home Information Packs are introduced to the property market this time next year, experts claimed yesterday.

Mr. Greg Hands (Hammersmith and Fulham) (Con): I am pleased to have this short debate on home information packs, better known as HIPs. This is not the first time that they have been debated in this place and it will probably not be the last. Given the number of hon. Members who wish to speak, I shall try to be brief and not cover all the objections that I and others have to HIPs. Suffice it to say, they are included in early-day motion 2240, which is entitled “Introduction of home information packs” and was tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove). I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bridgwater (Mr. Liddell-Grainger) for his recent excellent ten-minute Bill on the subject.

With one year to go until the introduction of compulsory home information packs, the Council of Mortgage Lenders says that the detail expected over the next month will be crucial in determining how effective the implementation will be.

Home Information Packs (HIPs) will make property buying easier and quicker and save consumers money, according to a new Which? book. 'Buy, Sell and Move House' will explain to homeowners exactly how a HIP will work.

I RECOGNISE that, as a subject, it doesn't sound promising. Yet the battle at Westminster over Home Information Packs, coming to an estate agent near you soon, is a fascinating example of a clash between ideologies: two parties, two opposing attitudes to the abilities of the State and the merits of the market, and led by two young MPs expected to be the parliamentary stars of the future.