Jessica Lee
Main Page: Jessica Lee (Conservative - Erewash)
Jessica Lee (Erewash) (Con)
1. What assessment has been made of the effect on providers of home information packs of the suspension of the requirement for such packs to be produced.
Mr Adam Holloway (Gravesham) (Con)
3. What assessment he has made of the effect on the housing market of the suspension of the requirement to provide home information packs.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr Eric Pickles)
The suspension of HIPs has given a much needed boost to the housing market. Reports from the industry suggest that the number of new homes coming on to the market has increased by more than one third since HIPs were suspended. We have also estimated that abolishing HIPs could save consumers just short of £900 million over the next 10 years.
Jessica Lee
Estate agents in Erewash have conveyed to me their relief at the home information pack scheme being abolished. Indeed, one estate agent has just described the scheme to me as being a complete barrier to people selling their homes. Can the Secretary of State inform the House whether that sentiment is shared by other people working in the housing sector across the country?
Mr Pickles
I am delighted to inform my hon. Friend that joy and happiness among estate agents is not confined to Erewash. Throughout the land, there is a general understanding that the drag anchor that HIPs were is no longer a constraint on the housing market.