Hips 'have made market more complex'

The government's home information pack (Hips) scheme has caused a lot of problems at a difficult time for the housing market, it has been stated.

Jane Walmsley, area sales director at estate agency Your Move, said the task of obtaining Hips and carrying out energy performance assessors was not hard for his company, because it is large, has good links with Hips providers and has in-house assessors.

However, he added, this was harder for small companies who have to deal with "three or four companies" to meet the various requirements.

Stating that this has made it trickier to sell a property, he stated: "I think it's made it more complex at a time when there is no money about and if someone has to fork out for a Hip, it obviously doesn't help the housing market."

How much this may be true in a market that is doing well remains to be seen, he concluded.

Those who self build can avoid having to deal with the Hips process altogether.

A Mori poll in March found that 41 per cent of buyers did not believe Hips had made buying a home any more simple.