Property professionals enjoy a large slice of “I was right”, as we witness an embarrassing climb-down by the Government when announcing that Home Condition Reports (HCRs) would no longer be mandatory with HIPs (Home Information Packs).

But as they make yet another u-turn on new legislation affecting the property market, are we witnessing incompetent state meddling or are we basking in the sunshine of a real, working democracy?

My opinion is both. The Government embarked on an ‘ideal’ without fully considering the opinions of the industry – not unusual, you may say, but in this case, the errors were glaring and became more so as they stubbornly talked tough about significantly reducing the costs of lost sales.  No doubt, hoping to claim a victory for the ‘everyday man’ over the 'blood-sucking' property professional – and if the estate agents were not complaining, it was not radical enough.

Well, we still have Home information Packs next June, but, thankfully, no compulsory Home Condition Reports.  Yvette Cooper, the minister for Housing and Planning, feels that sellers will voluntarily spend £500+ on a condition report in the hope that it will sell their property more quickly – even though, it could take 2 weeks to receive a report back, to make available to your prospective buyers.  Good luck there then. The upside is the mandatory packs are more likely to cost around £150 as opposed to £1000 with the HCR.

It has been a tough old time for all those in the pro-HIPS lobby, many of whom also supported the Government on the new SIPPs legislation, only to see a face-reddening u-turn there, as well. 

However, there are those that would argue that this is what democracy is all about. The Government should, for the sake of political integrity, occasionally, get their hand slapped away by their opponents and bow to political pressure.  Otherwise, we would be living in some kind of state dictatorship with ‘static’ democracy, where once elected, the Government would rule unopposed - a bit like the Tories in the ‘80s (cheap shot!).  The ‘we know best’ style of Government enjoyed by both sides of the political divide over the last 25 years, has taken a battering of late, so let’s enjoy, and warm ourselves in the soft glow of the democratic victory of common sense over misguided political idealism…  ‘Cos we won.

Author’s Summary

So what will we gain in the end?  This somewhat watered down HIPs package, now has more relevance to the mechanics of selling property. The energy efficiency report will encourage sellers to think about energy efficiency, I mean, who wants a rubbish report? …and producing the searches etc in advance will, no doubt, benefit someone along the way; although, I do not know how HIPs are going to speed up the seller/buyer in a chain… or the one waiting for their divorce settlement money before they can complete …or the family that does not want to move until the kids break up for the summer hols. They only have to ask for clarity or further information or documentation not covered by HIPs and…Voila!  Weeks of delay.

Never wishing to end on a negative; overall it has been a brave, if sometimes frustrating, attempt by the Government to tackle a problem that has plagued the property market for many years and reduce the anguish and costs caused by failed house sales - particularly for first time buyers. They avoided tricky estate agency legislation by introducing these packs and putting the onus on the seller and will make a long-term difference to the energy efficiency of our homes, presumably reducing emissions in the process.  

In addition, it sends a message to the property industry that this Government is out to make radical (unpopular if necessary), changes to how we sell our houses and how we manage those sales.  While the property industry has managed to keep its sovereignty, and is, happily, settling for the less disruptive package tabled now.

Expect more on this as we count down the days to June 1, 2007; there are murmurings that there may be more changes to come and a possible return to HCRs once HIPs have settled in to normal procedure, but for now, all is peaceful.

I leave on one of the more popular legal terms that still rings true regardless of new legislation or Government protections:  

‘Caviat Emptor’ - Buyer beware.

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