Government must not repeat their past mistakes with latest property proposal

The Government must not repeat the mistakes of the Home Information Pack (HIPs) with their latest proposal to make buying and selling houses easier, say leading audit, tax and business advisory firm, Blick Rothenberg

Mark Cunningham, a Partner at the firm, said, “The Government aims to address the fact that one in three property sales fail and to reduce the average 120 days transaction time. Their ultimate goal is to reduce friction in the selling and buying process which would increase transaction numbers and help drive the UK economy.”

Mark added: “However, their proposals are strikingly similar to HIPs, introduced by the Labour Government in 2007 with the same aim of reducing delays and uncertainty and reducing the number of transactions that fell through. But HIPS incurred upfront costs for sellers, which counterproductively, deterred listings and added delays, with only modest improvements in transaction times. HIPs were suspended in 2010 and later abolished.

“While the intent behind the new proposals of reducing transaction times and overall costs is welcome, if they increase upfront costs, it will deter sellers just like HIPs. If they are to have a chance of success it is imperative that the new information packs provide grease to the home buying and selling process rather than friction.

“Consultation for the new proposals highlights international examples of digital systems that have proven to be successful in reducing transaction times elsewhere. It may be that digital systems could be utilised to streamline the packs and keep upfront costs to a minimum, and hopefully prevent Labour repeating the mistakes of the past.”