FIRST the good news for homebuyers. In their new diluted form, minus the home condition report, home information packs (Hips to their friends, and there were not many of those) are much less likely to cause instability in the housing market. The unexpected glut of properties for sale before their introduction in June 2007 and a slump thereafter is no longer a concern.

But now for the not-so-good news. The rise in inflation, caused by higher energy bills, has put an interest rate increase back on the agenda: more expensive mortgage repayments could be a threat for those who have not cautiously opted for fixed rate loans. Families who are not only burdened with huge mortgages but have other debts would be particularly vulnerable to an upward interest rate move.

This could put a dampener on the house prices that have been performing well in most areas and even booming in London and the South East. Already in some areas of the North and Midlands, rising unemployment is preying on the minds on households.

The men and women who had trained to be home inspectors responsible for compiling condition reports may not be a significant number among the jobless. But they will certainly be wishing today that they had not believed the Government’s grandiose promises about Hips.

If we pause to remember a few of these statements about the pressing need for Hips, then the decision to make the home condition report a voluntary element of this flagship reform is even more embarrassing for ministers.

Why the Department for Communities and Local Government now intends to pursue the policy is a puzzle, for the facts and figures about the state of a property that were to be contained in the home condition report were the crucial element — the information bit.

Which?, the consumers association, has called the compromise a “half-Hip”, but even this is a flattering description of what will remain.

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