Latest NewsAHIPPP ANNOUNCES THE APPOINTMENT OF TWO NEW DIRECTORS 14 August 2008 The Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) today announced the appointment of two new Directors, Rob Hailstone from Hipag and Lesley Sorridimi from HIPHIPhooray.com. Mike Ockenden, Director General of AHIPP said ‘We are delighted to welcome two such experienced people as Rob and Lesley onto the Board. They have been involved in the home buying and selling process for many years and were amongst the very first group of property experts to engage with Home Information Packs. Lesley Sorridimi commented ‘I am pleased to join the Board of AHIPP and in particular to bring a strong contribution to the debate on condition reporting in HIPs and for home buyers and the developing role of Home Inspectors.’ Rob Hailstone who has many years experience in conveyancing said ‘I am a strong believer in the concept of HIPs and am dedicated to improving the buying and selling process by helping develop a Hip that is as “Exchange Ready” as is possible. I look forward to working with the Board to ensure that our industry grasps this opportunity with both hands.’ 10 July 2008 The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) attended a meeting of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP) to discuss working with AHIPP members in moving forward a condition report that would be made available to the consumer. RICS also stated that the intention was to make it much easier for Home Inspectors to become members of the Institute and the suggestion is that they change Tech RICS to Associate of RICS (ARICS). The intention of RICS is to monitor the introduction of the Single Survey in Scotland this December before finalising the new condition report. Lesley Sorridimi arranged a meeting with the Chartered Institute of Loss Adjustors (CILA) to discuss the viability of Home Inspectors working with Loss Adjustors on claims such as Flood and Fire. CILA agreed that there was a natural synergy between Home Inspectors and Loss Adjustors and there are now ongoing discussions with ABBE and CILA on what level of training would be required. The meeting with CILA was following on from a meeting with the Association of British Insurers. The Government once again won a majority vote on Home Information Packs in the House of Lords this week and Lord Graham of Edmonton stated “Undoubtedly the main weight in the original legislation was the conditions survey, which was dropped about a year ago”. This was a clear affirmation for the Home Condition Report from Government. Sir Michael Pitt was asked by Ministers to conduct an independent review of the flooding emergency that took place in June and July 2007. The final report The Pitt Review: Lessons learned from the 2007 floods recommended that a Flood Risk Assessment should be included within the HIP. Lesley Sorridimi contacted the Pitt Review Team at cabinet office to discuss the benefits of a Home Inspector providing the Flood Risk Assessment within an HCR for the HIP which the Pitt team agreed with in principal. Lesley immediately passed this information to the Housing Minister, Caroline Flint, recommending that this was another clear step towards mandatory HCR. Home Information Packs - Benefiting U.K. Consumers 8 May 2008 The U.K. Government today announced a package of measures to help ensure consumers are seeing the vital information in Home Information Packs and are receiving a higher standard of service in the home buying and selling process. The new measures include: developing a new set of standards with industry on what consumers should expect from property professionals in the home buying and selling process; further building on the quality of information in the packs; working with industry to ensure that consumers are fully seeing and benefiting from the HIP, including the EPC, early in the process; extending until the end of the year the provisions enabling consumers to market their home as long as they have ordered and committed to pay for a HIP, and the provision requiring the lease to be included in the HIP for leasehold properties. The latest figures on HIPs show that consumers are already benefiting from the introduction of Home Information Packs. More than 700,000 homes now have energy ratings as a result of HIPs, helping home owners to save money on their fuel bills and cut carbon emissions. Greater competition in the property searches market is also leading to reductions in costs with some local authorities reducing their search fees by up to £120. Housing Minister Caroline Flint said: “Home Information Packs are already bringing benefits to consumers. Property search costs are falling and new information on energy efficiency can help cut carbon emissions and enable prospective purchasers to get a better idea of the likely costs of energy bills. “But we want to do more to improve the HIP and the home buying and selling process for consumers. Developing a new set of standards for industry is an important next step in further ensuring all consumers get the highest quality of service when buying or selling a home. We also want to ensure all consumers are seeing the vital information in a HIP early in the process so they can fully benefit.” “Alongside the development of a new industry code, we will continue to work with the industry to promote higher and consistent standards of practice on the delivery of HIPs.” Today’s announcement includes:
Communities and Local Government 6 March 2008 TRIALS HIGHLIGHT SATISFACTION WITH HOME INFORMATION PACKS AND BUYERS ACTING ON ENERGY RATINGS Consumers were satisfied with the Home Information Pack (HIP) and are starting to use energy ratings to make their homes greener, according to early testing of HIPs. Results from research by Ipsos MORI into the HIP area trials reveal that 72 per cent of sellers were satisfied with the HIP, 79 per cent agreed that it contained everything expected, and 81 per cent understood the documents, including their energy rating, from A-G, in the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Nearly one third of buyers on examining the HIP planned to carry out recommendations in the EPC to improve the energy efficiency of their home. This would equate to nearly half a million transactions per year in today's housing market where consumers took action as a result of the EPC to cut fuel bills and carbon emissions. The research report highlights that 58 per cent of buyers would have liked the opportunity to see the HIP earlier in the process. However, agents were either not showing the packs or providing them too late to consumers to make a difference, according to the findings. Out of the 40 per cent of buyers who saw the HIP last year in the trials, half viewed it after they made an offer on their property. The Government has already taken action to raise awareness of HIPs and to remind agents of their responsibility to make sure it is readily available so more people fully benefit from the packs. This includes a public information campaign and specific activity aimed at the industry, including more than 20,000 agents. Consumers can only benefit if they see the pack. We know the appetite is there because nearly 60 per cent of buyers wanted to see their HIP earlier and 32 per cent planned to take action on examining the EPC - it is important agents respond to this. Housing Minister Caroline Flint said: "I welcome the fact that buyers are starting to act on their energy ratings, which could cut a million tonnes of carbon a year as well as helping families with their fuel costs. "However, what is clear from the trials is that more buyers wanted to see the HIP but it was not always made available to them. That's why we have taken action to increase awareness of the consumers' right to see a HIP and to remind agents of their responsibility to provide the pack.” The Government has responded to emerging findings throughout the research period which tested around 2,600 HIPs, to help develop the packs and to ensure a smooth implementation into the market. This includes decisions to introduce a first day marketing exemption, temporary measures on leasehold information, and work with industry to make sure packs are being made available to consumers. Early monitoring shows implementation of HIPs has gone smoothly.
Consumers buying new homes will additionally benefit from the mandatory inclusion of a rating against the Code for Sustainable Homes in the HIP from May 1, which will add significantly to the environmental performance information in the pack. To help continue the smooth implementation of the packs into the market, the Government is extending the use of insurance cover where property search data is unavailable, from 31 March to 31 December 2008. The Government is currently consulting on new guidance on access and charging to help ensure a level playing field in the delivery of good quality searches at competitive prices. Notes to editors
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