The coalition government has suspended the use of Home Information Packs (HIPs) by home sellers.
HIPs were introduced in 2007 in England and Wales.
The aim was to speed up the house selling process by obliging sellers to provide much of the required conveyancing information when properties are first put up for sale.
The packs are paid for by sellers and contain property information, title deeds, and local searches.
House price inflation hits 10.5%, says the Nationwide
Prices are up but sales are still very subdued The annual rate of UK house price inflation has hit double figures for the first time since June 2007, according to the Nationwide.
The building society said that house prices in the UK had risen by 10.5% in the year to the end of April.
Prices rose by 1% in April to push the cost of the average home to £167,802.
Source: BBC News
From 6th April 2009 the government regulation changes on first day marketing of properties comes in to force. Previously sellers could commission and pay for a HIP and then start marketing their property for up to 28 days before the pack was available. This resulted in some buyers losing out by making decisions about purchases without the benefit of seeing the pack. However the regulations now require that on the first day of marketing, buyers have certainty that the HIP will be available as soon as a property comes onto the market.
In a recent announcement the government has set out proposals for improvements to the Home Information Pack (HIP).
Over the coming months the Department for Communities and Local Government is to consult on two proposed changes to the information that should be supplied in all Home Information Packs (HIPs). It is hoped that these proposed changes will improve the process of buying property in the UK.
The Law Society has urged UK homeowners to use qualified solicitors to provide their Home Information Pack. This encouragement is in light of government warnings that some rouge HIP providers are putting incorrect or incomplete documents in the packs.
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.
Results from recent Home Information Pack area trials have revealed that 72 per cent of sellers are satisfied with the HIP. Over 79 per cent of consumers questioned agreed that the pack contained everything that they expected, and 81 per cent were able to understood and make use of the documents.