Sellers should keep the right to market homes before a HIP is completed, argues Splinta…

At present owners can market their properties as soon as they have commissioned a Hip, but from June it will have to be completed first. Pressure group Splinta has launched a petition to persuade the government to maintain the current system. The government said the concession had only ever been a temporary measure.

Hips, now compulsory for all homes being sold in England and Wales, are intended to speed up the sale of homes, and give all buyers an energy rating for the property. The packs were initially meant to include a report on the condition of the property - but the government decided to make that element voluntary.

Extend ‘first day marketing’

The campaign group Splinta, which stands for Sellers' Pack Law is not the Answer, has long argued against Hips, which it believes distort the housing market. Splinta wants the current ability to market a property as soon as a Hip has been commissioned - so-called "first day marketing" - to be extended.

It believes making sellers wait until the pack is completed would unfairly penalise individual homeowners, and damage the health of the housing market. It has launched a petition on the 10 Downing Street website, calling for the regulations not to be amended.

"There is no sustainable argument in favour of ending first day marketing, and the strength of feeling about this is making itself shown in the rapidly escalating number of signatures on the petition," said estate agent and Splinta spokesman Nick Salmon.

"New Housing minister Caroline Flint has inherited the poison chalice of Hips from her predecessor, Yvette Cooper. We sincerely hope that she will take a pragmatic and intelligent view about the scheduled change," he added.

Hips are a ‘real benefit’

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) insisted that the extension will end as scheduled on 1 June, and said Hips were already delivering "real benefit" to consumers and the environment.

"First-time buyers' upfront costs are falling as a result of the packs, greater competition is driving down the cost of Local Authority searches for all, and EPCs are helping consumers cut fuel bills and carbon emissions," said a DCLG spokesman.

"As we have previously set out, we have extended the temporary provisions on first-day marketing in order to help ensure the continued smooth implementation of Hips," he added.