Certus Mortgage Solutions: SimplyHIP: Nine in 10 sellers to be caught out by HIPs rules

Nine in 10 sellers of residential properties who will have marketed their homes before June 1 2007 will not have a Home Information Pack (HIP) in place on 31 October 2007, according to HIP provider SimplyHIP.

It said this could result in them being unable to sell their house. It warned those requiring a HIP will find the market stretched to breaking point as there is predicted to be insufficient professional providers of the key elements necessary to produce the Packs around this "drop dead dateline".

Ashley King, managing director of SimplyHIP, said: "The residential property market has to address this situation. And preparation is the key. Agents must encourage residential sellers to apply for a HIP even if they think the property may sell before the due date.

"The introduction of HIPs is scheduled for 1 June 2007. Any property on the market prior to that date will be exempt until 31 October 2007, on which date it will become illegal to market a property without the aforementioned HIP. During this four-month introductory period around 400,000 residential properties will be on the market all requiring a HIP. However, on 31 October all those unsold properties from the period prior to June 1 will also require a HIP, estimated to be about 100,000 homes which will also instantaneously require a HIP or be forced to stop marketing their homes

King believes that the problem could easily be remedied by agents ensuring that their clients have a HIP prior to the legislation deadline.