HIP system seen being circumvented

LONDON (Reuters) - A controversial home seller pack scheme is being circumvented by estate agents desperate to complete sales in a sluggish housing market, a leading lawyer Paul Marsh told the BBC on Saturday.

With many buyers not aware they should be offered a home information pack (HIP) that provides them with key information about a property, some estate agents and sellers are only producing it once a sale has been agreed.

"The evidence is that these Hips are being ordered and not being processed," Law Society president Paul Marsh told the BBC. "They're being suspended until such time as a buyer is found.

"I don't think it is within the spirit of the regulations. Actually, I don't think it is within the regulations."

Nick Salmon, a member of the board of the National Association of Estate Agents, agreed with Marsh some of his members were not acting within the spirit of the law.

"We don't condone flouting the law, but I can certainly understand why they are doing it, especially as the pack is completely useless to buyer and seller.

"I have never yet had a buyer ask to see a Home Information Pack on a property. They ignore it. It is usually when the solicitor asks to see if there is a pack there that we provide it.

"The pack is of no interest to buyers and is considered to be a stealth tax by sellers."

Paul Broadhead of the Association of Home Information Pack Providers called on the government to be more rigorous in enforcing the system.