| HIPs law 'riddled with loopholes' |
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| Sunday, 01 July 2007 | |
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Loopholes that enable homeowners to avoid Home Information Packs (HIPs) will make the controversial scheme "totally unenforceable", critics believe.
Simple measures such as removing a bed from a bedroom, cancelling a pack after it has been ordered, or advertising a home on a personal website will allow sellers to escape the costly packs without breaking the law. From next month, homeowners in England and Wales with four or more bedrooms will be legally obliged to supply buyers with the packs which include lease details, local searches and a certificate rating a property's energy efficiency. However, the Government has defined a four-bedroom house as a property which is "marketed" as having four bedrooms, enabling vendors to escape the £600 cost of a HIP by simply moving a bed out of a fourth bedroom and marketing the property as having three bedrooms and a "spare room". Discuss this article on the forums. (0 posts) |
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