Minister heckled at HIPs conference

The parliamentary under secretary of state for housing and planning, Iain Wright MP, has been heckled at a conference hosted by the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP).

During a speech at the conference, Wright refused to indicate a likely date for the rollout of HIPs for one and two bedroom homes, angering many people in the audience.

Commenting on the minister’s speech, Mike Ockenden, director general of AHIPP, says: "The Minister’s refusal to indicate the likely timing for full rollout of HIPs to one and two bedroom homes clearly angered many people in the audience. They felt very let down by the Government, and the implications of stalling on a full rollout are having a real impact on their livelihood.”

Ockenden says the rollout of home with three bedrooms or more has been successful and seamless and claims there is no further reason for delay. He rejects claims that HIPs have cause distortions in the selling of homes with three or more bedrooms.

“The market impact has been limited to a blip in listings before four and then three bedroom properties went live followed by a corresponding reduction in listings immediately after each rollout. Four bedroom home listings have now returned to normal levels according to the Rightmove data issued on Monday and three bedroom homes are following the same trend,” he says.

Homes with four bedrooms or more were required to have a HIP when being sold from the beginning of August, with three bedroom homes following in early September. Wright said current market conditions meant he could not set a formal date for HIPs on smaller properties.

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