May 22 2007
It was due to launch next week, but instead the Hip scheme - the government's nearly-broken attempt to introduce home information packs - has been delayed again and the criteria watered down.
Rather than putting the final touches to the scheme, just 10 days from their June 1 launch date the government has announced a two-month postponement and changed the plans so they initially only apply to homes with four bedrooms or more. It is the latest in a long line of delays and rethinks for a piece of legislation first announced by the government a decade ago.
The beginning
Seller's packs were part of new Labour's manifesto in 1997, and first proposed in 1998 by the then housing minister Hilary Armstrong. They were a response to concerns about unfair practices in the residential property market and were meant to streamline the process of buying a home.
The idea was that the seller would collect all the necessary documents before putting the property on the market. The pack would include a new type of survey - the home condition report - plus all the searches, building approvals and other forms necessary for selling a house.
The government's mission was to "make the home buying and selling process more transparent, more certain, consumer friendly and faster". It was based on schemes used successfully in Denmark, the USA and Australia.
1999
The first limited trial took place in Bristol in 1999 and got a lukewarm response. Many argued that the packs would in fact make the problem worse - the debate has rumbled on ever since. The bill didn't make it through parliament in the first term and was shelved in 2001.
2003
Hips were reintroduced as part of a new housing bill announced in March 2003, with an introduction date of 2005. Housing minister, Lord Rooker, called the British housing market "ridiculous" and promised: "We are going to put this right".
The idea immediately ran into trouble with the National Association of Estate Agents claiming that Hips could "spell disaster" for the housing market.
In November the bill was introduced in the Queen's speech and was welcomed by, among others, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).
2004
The bill spent most of the year being batted to and fro between the House of Commons and the House of Lords. By late autumn the Tories were calling Hips a "poll tax on property selling" and the Lords were calling for blood.
The bill scraped through on November 18, with the concession that they were given a "dry run" in 2006 before being rolled out nationally on June 1 2007.
Estate agents reacted badly to the news - they wanted them to be launched in that year but later, in winter, traditionally a quiet time for the housing market.
2005
By late 2005 there was serious concern over the validity of the survey part of the Hip, the home condition reports. Critics asked "who would trust a survey done by the vendor?"
Estate agents claimed that buyers would still get their own survey done, effectively doubling the amount spent on surveys. The expected cost of the pack, up to £1,000, was also a growing concern.
2006
Objections reached a crescendo in summer 2006 when Location, Location, Location TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp joined the fray, calling Hips a "huge mistake".
Two days after her intervention, the government dropped the home condition report from the Hip, citing concerns over a shortfall in the number of home condition report inspectors. This was greeted by many as a government u-turn and led to tabloid headlines wrongly stating that Hips had been scrapped.
Instead, the new slimmer, cheaper Hip limped on. Trials were launched in six areas: Bath, Newcastle, Southampton, Northampton, Huddersfield and Cambridge.
With the home condition report dropped, the scheme was given a quick greenwash. The government highlighted the energy efficiency report - a green audit of your home - as a main selling point. Under EU law all homes are required to have an energy efficiency report by 2009.
2007
By early this year the property industry was getting increasingly concerned. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said there was "no evidence" that Hips would speed up the homebuying process.
In March, the CML, Rics, the National Association of Estate Agents and the Law Society all wrote to the housing minister to express their concern. They requested a meeting, but were ignored.
The group had several concerns, including the shortage of energy efficiency inspectors as well as the impact of Hips on the property market.
In May, Rics went to court to stop the June launch of Hips. The institution said it was seeking a judicial review into the "failure" of ministers to consult properly, a charge dismissed by the government as "groundless".
Scaremongering reports about a looming property crash and a "flood" of sellers racing to put their home on the market before the Hip deadline were dismissed by more seasoned commentators.
The environmental impact of Hips has also recently been attacked and defended, and the House of Lords is meeting today in a last ditch bid to halt the Hips.
So will Hips finally see the light of day in August?
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