What we need is a very clear guidleine on how to do a DIY HIp. Most of whats in a HIp is staright forward. Theonly thing that will be worry some is the searches. and getting the land registery which costs about £6. The searches will cost more but to tackle those few that will use this as a means to make money from this we need to have clear and evident guidleines and help so we can save money and do it ourselves and stp those estate agents from making money. Dont be conned by them you are able by law to do your own.

steve, oxford,

Pleaseeeeeeee. I wish somebody was brave enough and clever enough to fight this unfair tax.
In my circle of people NOBODY will be able to afford to pay for a hips! Does this mean that only well off people will be able to sell their homes?
The unfairness of it makes my stomach churn.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

S. Munden, King's Lynn, England

Camilla's comments go to the root of the problem, uneducated, thieving,sharks - AKA estate agents. Why should every prospective buyer have to pay, often the same surveyor, to undertake a survey on a property. The underlying sense of having one authoritive, legally approved survey undertaken by the seller and available to every prospective buyer makes so much sense. The RICS have done everything they can to ensure that their lucrative source of income is not threatened and, unbelievably, managed to maintain the situation where there is no come back if their surveys are found to be inaccurate or downright wrong. The sooner this bunch of crooks is exposed and we have a sensible system in place the better for everyone - but don't hold your breath.

Geoff Barber, Redcar, UK

Like many folk about to sell their house, I have been reading about the fiasco surrounding the impending HIPS and I must say that Camilla Cavendish's clear, concise comments make so much sense.

Like others, I would like to see the whole business of selling houses made clearer, easier for both the seller and buyer and without the risk of guzzumping, but I don't think that this SO mis-guided effort on behalf of our woefully ineffective government is going to do it! It's an absolute non-starter, with financial loss to many so far. Why can't Labour admit their mistake and start again. Is there anyone out there who can't see that the Emporer has no clothes!

We do need to tackle the issue of energy consumption in residential homes; and I agree - issue incentives via council tax refunds to people who need to fund cavity wall and/or loft insulation instead, effective for all homes needing attention, not just those for sale

Labour - Think again!

Maureen, Stevenage, Herts.

IMHO the Hips environmental report & the energy efficiency rating of the home is a pure waste of money with next to no value-add.
From what I read you pay for a report which tells you that your house is in band x & if you spend a lot of money on a host of modifications which do not have a return on investment in your lifetime you may be able to get your home into the next best band. Whoopdidoo !
You have to have been living in a vacuum not to be aware of the cost/benefit of loft insulation & low energy electric light bulbs & you have to be stupid if you invest big money in measures energy saving measures where the financial arguments for implementing them don't add up.
But do I need a nanny-government sponsored adviser to tell me all this? And so what ? ...are we going to knock down all the old inefficient housing & replace it with new energy efficient houses? - I suspect not !
Clearly without the Home Condition Report the HIPS is a solution looking for a problem. Scrap it.

Andy, Newcastle,

I have lived in New Zealand and Scotland where the house buying process is undertaken using a written contract for sale between the seller and purchaser.
These contracts can be conditional on terms which satisfy the requirements of both the buyer & the seller i.e. both parties can propose terms which they want & no one has to accept conditions that they don't want.
Sooner or later, if the conditions are met (or if there are no conditions) the contract becomes unconditional at which point neither party can back out.
The process is transparent - Conditions are written down or if you have an unconditional contract you either need to be out on a given date or you need to have the funds arranged by a given date.
Everyone understands these rules & (in NZ) the Real Estate industry is regulated to help ensure that nobody gets hoodwinked.
If the Government wants to stop gazumping then one way would be to legislate that all property transactions have to be completed in this manner.

Andy, Newcastle,

Its funny how people seem to forget some vital issues:
A) the huge value of their property
B) the potential market house price fluctuation (up or down)
C) the 'negotiable' price factor when buying/selling
D) Estate agent's commission (a 'tad' above the inflation rate 2%+vat of £350k = £8,225)
E) Mortgage related fees

These cost factors make the HIP's look fairly insignificant & dare I say good value (£350+). The biggest mistake with the HIP's was to take out the 'Home Condition Report' (HCR) which would have given the pack much more clout in contributing to potential gazumping (the govt + training centres are too far behind on this at the moment)
And then the 'environmental issues':
Even if the EPC's only managed to make people aware of increasing their 'loft insulation' this would be a vast improvement to many properties + household bills.
So, if the govt. is trying to pull the wool over our eyes re: 'global warming', does that mean we should all stop being 'green'?(tax issues aside)

kv, weybridge, uk

"The way to stop gazumping is to create precontract contracts. "

This is an agreement to agree, which is not enforceable under English law and so would not stop gazumping.

The way that this could be prevented is by making the completion of contracts conditional on certain obligations being fulfilled, eg satisfactory due diligence having been completed. We currently use the concept of conditional contracts in property transactions, when exchange occurs before completion as the contract will be conditional on certain things happening. It is not correct to say that a pre-contract contract would prevent gazumping.

Charlotte, London,

"The way to stop gazumping is to create precontract contracts"

Unfortunately an agreement to agree, which is what is implied by this wording is not legally enforceable in England and Wales, so would not stop gazumping at all. A conditional contract which is subject to 'due diligence' being satisfactory and any other conditions the purchaser and seller agree to, on the other hand, would be enforceable so would be a better option and is somthing which buyers enter into now at exchange, hence the gap between exchange and completion when the conditions are fulfilled.

Charlotte, London,

Another ill informed article on HIPS (Home Information Packs by the way ) If your so worried about paying £600 up front , then why not get an Agent who will still provide No Sale No Fee & then only charge £300. There will be plenty beleive me. Maybe you should research the market before typing this rubbish. Oh and no Im not an Estate Agent or work in the housing market, I still managed to find 3 agents who could provide me with a cheap no sale no fee HIP rather then jump onto the market early to avoid the cost.

Also because homes are producing so much energy the certificates within the pack will kick start a grrener society (generally accepted by all)
Your direct policies are a non-starter, however if your so concerned why not take advantage of the current subsidies and get loft and cavity insulation, you can find it for £500 if you look properly.
It will cost more than a HIP though

Richard, Manchester, UK

Angela in Southport, you are missing the point. The costs have not shifted from the buyer to the seller at all. The buyer will still have to pay for a survey (and a basic valuation one is usually at least £300 and that tells you nothing useful), then they will also have to pay for the conveyancing done by their solicitor. Whether solicitors reduce their fees remains to be seen but that seems doubtful. You may pay for fewer searches but you will still have to pay the legal fees which will probably add another £400 at least to the buyers cost.

LH, UK,

an absolute load of rubbish. we're currently in the process of selling our property; this just adds to the psychological stress. it just doesn't make sense to add on and if the property takes longer than 3 months to sell another evaluation has to take place.

kalbinder, derby, derbyshire

The Government's objective of having an EPC for homes can more easily be met by ensuring that these are undertaken when the survey/valuation is done. This will lead to no extra cost and no disruption to the housing market. It will also cut out the many car journeys required to undertake the extra 1.5 million inspections. It should also be remembered that the searches, which will be part of the pack will be out of date when the buyer's solicitor requires them. Therefore they will need to be updated at an additional cost when a sale is agreed. The disruption to the housing market of the HIP will be enormous, it will lead to a significant reduction in available properties.

Paul King, Hemel Hempstead,

I feel that there is to much in the way of bad press and not enough accurate information is being given to the public.
This in turn causes confusion and a lack of understanding. Ms Cavendish's article is a fine example.
Production of the HIP are about the same as the costs of buying a house at the moment, with the addition of the energy certificate. The cost will shift from the buyer to the seller, this will then help the first time buyers market and hopefully stop the time wasters that want to just test the water.

Angela, Southport, England

This is ridiculous!
If my house was on the market, why can't I just show prospective buyers a few back-bills relating to energy consumption? If they're eco-friendly they can always change the bulbs and turn the central heating down a notch. Any idiot can see its damp-proofed and double-glazed. If I had to pay up to £600 for information already to hand it would put me off even speculating the housing market.

Mags madden, Blackpool, England

The only loser will be the buyer of the property as the price of the HIp will be added to the asking price to the property.

A commercial person, Manchester,

So the fine is £200 and the cost to provide a HIP more than that. Well that's a "no brainer" lets pay the fine, save the money, and get on with marketing the property and finding a buyer! And with substantial value properties are they going to worry about the fine - I think not.

Fiona Anderson, Camberley, Surrey

What seems to be overlooked is the fact that as a seller you commission a HIP but you also gain as a buyer since you will have the benefit of the HIP provided for the intended property. This will allow everyone to have a basis for comparison. Additionally energy is becoming more expensive - aside from the green issues - and people need to make sensible decisions based upon reliable information. In 2/3 years time and beyond I don't think you will find many people arguing against energy reports - HIP's as a whole perhaps since bigger commercial interests are swarming the market.

Mike, Hadleigh, Suffolk

Where is the value? This is completely ludicrous; the only people to benefit are the home inspectors. It does not take a report to tell you that if you install energy saving light bulbs you will reduce your energy consumption. This is just another tax, along with abolition of mortgage tax relief, a hike in stamp duty. I can get a seach for £100 (why would I trust the vendor) and can figure out how to save energy for free. I hope someone will see sense, I would rather pay the £200 fine.

Henry Cowdry, Stratford Upon Avon, UK

The value of an HIP, as presently structured, is zero for sellers and low for buyers: lenders [understandably] want more comprehensive reports completed by qualified surveyors. So do buyers. So the process is saving neither time nor money for anyone. We have yet to see reported the first prosecutions of those who discover that sellers will pay substantially more for a falsified document than to have "recommended" improvements effected - but that will come too: the scope for substantial fraud is significant.

I would not pay £600 [watch for above-inflation price increases because demand will be inflexible] for a document without value to me. The introduction of this scheme reflects either political naivety or political stupidity or lack of awareness of the perception of all sections of the community. The scheme must have been devised by someone without financial or commercial awareness. Gordon Brown should scrap it - or watch the voters abandon Labour even more quickly...

Tony Wood, Winchester, UK

I think, just a suggestion, that "Improvement" may be intentional? How exactly do these improve the house or the chances of selling it? Not a jot - VERY new Labour. BUt no need to worry - the fine for selling without one is ONLY 200, and that's if it's reported (no incentive to report a house seller you might want to buy from) trading standards can be a*sed to investigate, then pursue, and finally impose the penalty.

George Edwards, harrogate, UK

Quite frankly I find it astonishing that I have to pay for a Building Society survey that I do not get to see! If I have paid for it, I have a right to see it, don' t I? I never worked that one out! Surely the freedom of Information Act should do something about that, too. Also not being able to enquire to the other side what the hold ups are and why strikes me as mad! They should be transparent and accountable for undue delays, shouldn't they??

Carlyle Braden, Croydon, U.K.

Nobody seems to make the point that getting an HIP is beyond the purse of most people. Not only are they useless but I for one couldn't just lay my hands on an extra £300-400. This draconian measure is just another indication of the governments ignorance of the true financial status of most people. All these new high earners have gone to their heads! Well done labour!

Stephanie Munden, Norfolk, England

Having experienced it, the French buying/selling system seems fairer. You put in an offer, after doing all enquiries to your satisfaction.. If the vendor accepts it, you both sign a binding contract to complete. If you don't complete there are financial penalties commensurate with the value of the property. Simple. Easy. Fool proof.

Filey, Scarborough, England

I have been a conveyancer for over 30 years.

There are 3 parts to the HIP:-

1. The Energy report which is political and is not included in the HIP to assist house sales.

2. The local and water searches which have a shelf life and if over a few months old will not be acceptable to Lenders who will require new ones to be made.

3. The Title documentation which can any way be obtained online from the Land Registry for a few pounds.

HIPs are an absurd irrelevance to the housing and conveyancing process.

Paul, Whitby,

Home INFORMATION packs (not improvement), how can we judge the accuracy of the article when you cant even get the name right?

dave, London,

If the government wants greener houses how about enforcing all new houses to meet tougher environmental targets (instead of the leaky paper thin rubbish that gets built today at lowest cost) and ensuring all improvements and renovations must also build in environmental improvements. Yvette Cooper looked at this a couple of years ago and backed down against the housing industry. NuLabour eh? Always willing to bash the individual and small firms never willing to take on the big boys........

Tim, Chester,

I could not agree more. HIPs were introduced by this government to speed up the conveyancing process but in fact the HIP will slow the process down as the legal searches provided within it are largely unacceptable to mortgage lenders so a buyer will still have to obtain these. Its a waste of time and money and as for saving energy will if anthing add to carbon emissions and environmental damage because of the additional paper required and cost of sending out an energy inspector to your home in his car.

Sam Davies, Wolverhampton, UK

Fully agree but.... they are Home Information Packs - not improvement in any sense of the word
The chain will always control the speed of any transaction. No buyer will be remotely interested in reading the Pack and their Solicitor will ignore it
This Government will not listen

M Cooper, coventry,

Probably not enough room in this feedback box to raise all of the factual errors in this article. Aside from the mistake in the name (which instantly shows a lack of research or knowledge of the subject), HIPs will cost £300-400 (not £600); the majority of the content of the HIP is not subject to VAT (searches); the cost of these searches have simply been transferred from a home buyer to a seller, which will benefit the impoverished 1st time buyer we hear so much about. The packs will force sellers to make a commitment to marketting their home, instead of skewing the market by offering a property that they have no intention of selling at a reasonable price. Finally, the energy certificate, the only new expense in this package, will cost about £100. If this is the 2 weeks wages suggested in the report, I suspect that Ms Cavendish is finally being paid the amount that her ill-judged, scaremongering articles are worth.

P Riding, Downham Market, Norfolk

There are countless godd ideas that every prospective property buyer and seller has, yet the powers that be stoutly refuse to do anything about them.

Perhaps if this were to become an issue in the next general election we may see some improvements.

Robert McGuiness, London, England

What is absolutely scandalous is that, having made these useless HIPs compulsory, the Government has the brass neck to charge VAT on them. A classic piece of Brownite stealth taxation.

By the way, doesn't the 'I' stand for information rather than improvement?

Nick, London,

Your incentive scheme is like repairing water pipes instead of building a new reservoir - one benefits the public and the local tradesmen and the other means big bucks for big business.

If it is collected by a government and serves no useful purpose then it is a tax. Since this is a tax on advertising and selling houses, that makes it a VAT rise by the back door, and without even having to give away a contribution to the EU budget.

And that's called THEFT.

KR, Stockport,

The whole idea - essentially a good one - failed when it became obvious that mortgage companies would still require buyers to commission their surveys. The law to introduce these packs should have included language that required mortgage companies to accept them. Then, we'd have had something useful here.

Nick, Rotherham, Yorks

HIP's
The remedy to timewasters is simple. If a vendor allows a buyer to waste money buying a house which is not for sale then the vendor should reimburse those costs. So, when a buyer has a survey done, the sellers in granting the surveyor access, becomes liable for making good those costs should they pull out. Similarly in answering the usual buyer’s questionnaire, the vendor is deemed to be also giving permission for searches to begin.
The HCR was always a non-starter because of the conflict of interest of the client and the legal issues regarding surveyor’s liability – the buyer doesn’t have a contract with the surveyor.
I can see HIP’s leading to unofficial marketing on web forums hosted by estate agents where the vendor is 'not actually selling but curious' as to whether people would be interested in their house at £450,000. Then there are the loopholes
And as for energy efficiency that’s just the government’s feeble way of ticking the box.

Mark, Bushey, Herts

The HIP precedes a sale. so a buyer who finds costly insulation is required may demand a discount of the sale price. The seller would rather pay up than do the work, after all his mind is on his next house. Indeed, he may well then look carefully at the HIP of the next house to see if he can get a discount on the sale price to compensate for his loss on the sale. When new owners move in they are no more likely to spend their money on than insulation. After all, if they didn't spend it before they have no more incentive to do it now. The HIP, far from incentivising insulation work would merely add something else to squabble over and the only winner would be Brown because he charges 17.5% on it all.

R Mason, London, UK

Home improvement or Home information - Who cares?

They seem like a waste of time to me.

If the govt were really worried about emissions, they should increase taxes on gas electricity and petroleum until people make their homes (and cars) 'green' from their own volition (this is school boy economics). A far more elegant solution than all these complex tarrifs and charges that Gordon B cooks up all the time so no one quite knows where they stand

Shane, Guildford, UK

A HIP is a Home INFORMATION pack, NOT a home IMPROVEMENT pack. The big problem was in the removal of the mandatory home condition report ( HCR)- the same standard as a current home buyer survey.
The costs incurred, except for the energy performance cerificate, will be incurred anyway it just transfers the cost from the buyer to the seller. In most cases the cost will not have to be paid until sale although it will be a cost if you remove your house from sale. Speculatively putting your house up for sale just to test the market is one of the reasons estate agents fees are so high and people do not have faith in the current process. It should not be encouraged.

For an additional £2-300 you should be able to 'convert' your energy certificate into a full HCR. This has many advantages which, if allowed more space I could tell you about!!

Mike Treleaven, Kingsbridge,

Two things:
1-In discussing the HIP you probably want to get the name right, they're Home Information packs not Home improvement packs

2-If you want to sell your house instead of grinding coffee you could do the one thing that will shift it - lower the price

cymro, cymru,

You admit to having friends in this Government? Brave girl!

Richard, Kidderminster, England

Yes, even more fatuous and annoying than the French edict a couple of years ago requiring swimming pools to be fenced - even if you have no children and your garden is entirely walled, and notwithstanding that rivers, ponds, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean remain unfenced. A gift to the purveyors of fences of about the same amount as the cost of a HIP.

Andrew, Hong Kong,

In order to sell a property that we bought only months ago we pulled up the carpets, sanded the floors, ripped out mouldy looking double glazing and opened up a fireplace. Not only did it sell in two days, but the value shot up by £140k. Of course, we're looking to buy too - but we're looking for character, not something that resembles a hermetically sealed jar, so like our buyer (and no doubt all the other buyers that we've lost out to over sealed bids and gazumping) energy efficiency means diddly sqat against the thought of a roaring fire at Christmas. Or pretty (but draughty) stripped flooring and crittal windows. Full of hypocrisy, innit?

Any property already on the market however, will not have to provide the HIP, and no estate agent in this market should be charging 2.5%. We battered ours to a joint sole agent, winner takes all agreement for 1.25%. Another idea is to cut a deal on a sliding scale (more for asking price, less for less). Lastly, good luck!

Frida, London,

What's this Home Improvement Pack referred to?

Personally I'm not in favour of the new Home Information Packs, but that must be a totally different story. Quality journalism not!

C Cabbage, Earnest, UK

My heart bleeds for you. House price inflation has probably made your house worth about three times what you originally paid for it, and you're quibbling over £600? Maybe if house prices weren't on average nine times the income of many young families tired of the insecurity of renting, there may be more prospective buyers out there.

Jim Denny, Exeter, Devon

I know i have a vested interest as a a trainee DEA, but the EPC is a starter. It shows the householder their anticpated energy running costs and measures they can take over time to improve performance. Unfortunately as part of the HIP any good is lost with the antipathy there is to the overall pack. The devil is always in the detail and anyone who has had anything to do with government policy over the last 10 years knows that is where so much has gone wrong. Poorly thought/worked through, concerns that it will become another stealth tax, big brother to name but 3 New Labour traits. It is going to be interesting to see how this one pans out, between now and June 1st.

E Nergy, London ,