Government: Hips are a success
The introduction of Home Information Packs (Hips) last year in the UK has been a success, a new government study appears to show.Housing minister Caroline Flint released the figures yesterday, which show that 72 per cent of customers were "satisfied" by the packs.Now used for all property transactions, Hips contain essential information on the home such as its energy performance certificate and evidence of title, along with the sale statement.Ms Flint said that total time taken for exchange of contracts had been cut by ten per cent, thanks to Hips.Paul Broadhead at the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (Ahipp) commented: "These results show that even some months ahead of the implementation of Hips across the country, consumers in a number of locations were already seeing the benefits of the new process."I would now call on all those parties serving home buyers and sellers to work positively with Hips, ensuring that they are shown and explained to consumers - if everyone engages fully in the process Hips will help consumers move home with less stress, less wasted cost and greater certainty."
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