Hip Delays Found by Law Society

Many estate agents are advertising properties which do not provide a Home Information Pack (Hip) for several weeks after they first go on show, it has been claimed.

The Law Society believes that some of the agents, based in England and Wales, have begun marketing the homes without having even ordered the Hip - which is mandatory for all property sales. Resistance among sellers for paying the £400 required to purchase the pack is thought to be one of the reasons for this trend, the BBC reports.

It is thought that this reluctance has also become even stronger with the recent slowdown experienced in the housing market. According to surveys from lenders, house prices are now more than six percent below their average levels 12 months ago - while Nationwide has put this annual drop at over eight percent.

Hips contain information regarding the home on sale such as deeds and searches, along with an energy performance certificate. They were originally introduced by the government last year in the hope that they would streamline the homebuying process by allowing people more information about the properties they were looking to buy.

However, Law Society president Paul Marsh told the BBC that Hips have been largely unsuccessful in achieving this aim. "The evidence we're receiving from right across the country, be it Cornwall, London or the North East of England, is that solicitors are not receiving a Hip when the deal is struck," he said.

"You would have expected that the Hip would be available immediately the agreement [to accept an offer] is reached. We're not getting a Hip until three to four weeks later, sometimes not until exchange of contracts."