Do HIPs Need Replaced Already?
In what is a worrying sign of the problems associated with the Home Information Packs (HIPs), which the government are trying to force upon the property market, it has been revealed that there is a legal loophole which may allow homes to be sold without a pack in place. More problems for the government as this debacle is quickly turning into a comedy of errors!
The Royal Institution Of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) believe that they have spotted a serious flaw in the government legislation - although this has been strongly refuted by the authorities. In their rush to try and accommodate the market, after the initial announcement of HIPs, the government added a clause which stated that you only needed to have “ordered†a HIPs prior to marketing your property.
It is this “order†loophole which may save many home owners hundreds of pounds, and blow the government’s plans out of the water. It may be possible to order a HIP, market your property and if it was sold quickly enough, cancel the HIP thereby reducing the cost of selling a property. A separate Energy Certificate could be purchased on its own, as this would be required to complete any sale.
While the authorities have ridiculed this “loophole†it seems to be there, highlighting a very poor piece of legislation which may have major consequences. Do HIPs need replaced already - prior to their official launch?
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