News HIPs suspension wanted by local Conservatives
Haltemprice and Howden MP David Davis and prospective Goole MP Andrew Percy have this week called on Gordon Brown to help boost the beleaguered housing market by using government powers to suspend Home Information Packs (HIPs).
Growing evidence suggests that 12 months after their introduction, HIPs deter speculative sellers, increase transaction costs, discourage sellers from changing estate agent and reduce the number of housing transactions - all compounding the economic downturn.
Ministers now have the power to introduce a HIPs holiday as a last-minute concession was included to allow a government to suspend any or all of the HIP laws when they were pushed through Parliament in 2004. Parliament does not need to be sitting for such a power to be used.
David Davis said: "I believe that urgent action is needed to kick-start the housing market in the East Riding. But the Government is dithering - and their spin and speculation over stamp duty is further undermining the market by making buyers wait and see. In fact their actions in recent weeks could have made an already difficult housing market even worse.
"Before Home Information Packs were introduced, Ministers ignored warnings from experts and industry that this new red tape would harm the housing market and the economy. These warnings are coming true, but Ministers are more interesting in saving face than saving homebuyers money.
Ministers ignored research carried out in 2006 by independent experts, Oxford Economic Forecasting, who warned that HIPs would deter sellers and decrease the number of housing transactions by 10 to 25 per cent.
Andrew Percy added: "My worry is that all this talk of a stamp duty holiday was just to create a distraction from Labour leadership speculation. If the Government genuinely wanted to help, they would use their powers to suspend Home Information Packs straight away.
"I first raised concern over HIPs last year, only to be attacked by Labour locally. Sadly, my concerns have been proven correct and HIPs have put added burdens on an already depressed housing market by making it more expensive for people to sell their homes.
"A future Conservative Government will scrap this unnecessary red tape completely, but a suspension now will deliver those benefits sooner rather than later."
Published on 14th August 2008 in News.
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