Kirstie Allsopp you should be ashamed of yourself

The 'C' rated TV celebrity, Kirstie Allsopp, and the Yorkshire Wheeltapper and Shunters would be front man MP Eric Pickles could not resist the opportunity last week to gloat at the massive job loss, financial ruin and general misery inflicted by the government’s decision to suspend the HIP regulations.

A cheap PR stunt and one which Grant Shapps the Minister of Housing had held in the run up to the election. The only difference this time was that we were looking at the announcement of government policy.

Why wheel out Kirstie Allsopp? What has she achieved in her short TV life time to improve our ailing home buying process? Did I miss something; was she recently elected as an MP? She should be ashamed of herself getting involved in party style celebrations surrounding the wholly unnecessary demise of a well established industry employing over 3000 people.

What makes this even more difficult is the fact that it was not too long ago that Miss Allsopp was proclaiming the very same benefits that were actually being delivered by the HIP. She professes to be a housing expert but when it comes down to it she is nothing other than a hired gun. Let's wheel out Kirstie she will make the delivery of a decision which we know will destroy people’s life more palatable to the public. Sorry Kirstie you have been used and your integrity must as a result be damaged.

I wonder if Mr pickles, who was clearly out to make a name for himself (as up to then he has was always the drummer if the band), told Kirstie when she was hired the real truth. Did he tell her that his colleague Grant Shapps had made a written commitment to the HIP industry that he would consult before taking any action to suspend? A promise which he has broken.

The word of a MP is never a reliable one, but in a government which purports to be based on the principle of fairness one just has to wonder what lies ahead for us all.

So what now? Not much really other than trying to pick up the pieces and getting on with life. Yes there will be a consideration of legal options, but at the end of the day one has to begin to accept that the industry was the victim of political spite and goal scoring. Not sure why anyone in the future will feel safe in investing time and money in any new government led venture.

One final message - let's get our party hats ready as I am sure future policy implementation for government will not be this easy! What goes around comes around!

For those interested in joining the legal action group please contact David Jones at davidjones@m-j-p.co.uk.

Lib Dems proposals on HIPs and EPCs lack independent thought

Dare I say it, is there a possibility of the Country waking up on Friday of next week to a Lib Dem Government? Unlikely but there is no escape from the probability that the Lib Dens will feature in some shape or from within the next administration. So where does that leave the HIP industry and how do the Lib Dems view the HIP and EPC?

Up until the publication of the Party’s manifesto, it was understood at quiet high levels that the Party had not formed a view either way on whether the HIP should be retained. The inclusion of a pledge to scrap the HIP within the manifesto therefore emerged as a surprise to many of us, including it is interesting to note, a high number of Lib Dem candidates.

The question of whether this unexpected pledge is down to well thought through and generally supported policy, or an over jealous central office official, has yet to be answered. What we do know however is that the future of the HIP is likely to be well down the list of priorities if as likely, we are left with a ‘balanced’ parliament.

In a letter passed to me recently written by a Lib Dem candidate we do find some further clues on the Lib Dem way of thinking on energy. Unfortunately the author of the letter in the opening passage makes only a passing mention to HIPs commenting that they ‘play no useful role in the housing market…’ Not much there to assist but the letter does provide a quite useful insight into the Lib Dems plans for the EPC.

The good news, though given the European requirement it should come as no surprise, is the Lib Dems will retain the EPC and will require it to be produced ‘during the conveyancing process’. Not quiet sure what this means, though I suspect the requirement will be for the EPC to be produced prior to exchange of contracts.

Other measures mentioned in the letter which uncannily mirror some of the Tory proposals include the availability of low cost loans to bring empty and run down property back into the social housing arena, a national programme to insulate more homes, as well as a loan scheme similar to the Conservatives’ Refit proposal providing house owners with loans repayable over 25 years.

There are other measures mentioned though there is little on substance as regard compliance. Moreover, there is bad news for the Home Inspector with the Lib Dems apparently having no plans to reintroduce the Home Condition Report. The author does not ‘…believe that they would be viewed as a credible source of information by homebuyers particularly given the confused way in which HIPs were introduced by the Government’.

This all in my views smacks of plagiarism, as much of what is contained within this letter seems to reflect Conservative policy. It’s a shame a party that prides itself on independent thinking has had to rely on the thoughts of others, mainly it would seem at the expense of job loss and disruption within an industry that has over the past 6 months finally found its footing.

The letter in full

‘Thank you for contacting me about Home Information Packs (HIPs) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs). We do not believe that HIPs play a useful role in the housing market with the exception of Energy Performance Certificates. We will therefore retain EPCs which we believe to be useful, simple and essential in helping reduce the 27% of the UK’s carbon emissions, which come from our homes. We will require an EPC to be produced during the conveyancing process and we believe that this requirement will ensure full compliance with the requirement to produce an EPC. As well as our own committment to EPCs, the requirement to produce an EPC every time a house is bought, rented or sold is also mandated under EU law. You should therefore feel confident that the market for EPCs will continue.

Liberal Democrats have a number of proposals to improve the energy efficiency of UK homes:

• We will bring 250,000 empty homes back into use with cheap loans and grants through a £1bn Social Homes Fund that will provide grants for properties brought back into use as social housing and a £200 million Private Housing Fund that will provide low-cost loans to bring empty properties back into use in the the private sector.
• We will begin a national programme to insulate more homes paid for by the savings from lower energy bills and make sure every new home is fully energy efficient by improving building regulations.
• We will support homeowners to create warm and environmentally-friendly homes by setting up a privately funded scheme which will enable the costs of energy efficiency measures to be repaid over a period of up to 25 years. Eligible homes could be retro-fitted with home improvements costing up to £10,000 per home such as loft, wall and floor insulation, as well as energy efficient lighting, heating, windows, and doors.
• We will also launch an ‘eco-cashback’ scheme during our first year in government to give people £400 towards energy efficient home improvements and small energy generation projects. People will be able to apply for the cash to help pay for double glazing, boiler upgrades and micro generation such as solar panels, and domestic wind turbines.
• We will reduce the cost of repairs and improvements by equalising the rate of VAT on new build and repair on an overall revenue-neutral basis.

With respect to improving compliance with EPRs, I understand that non-compliance principally arises in the commercial sector. I support efforts to ensure greater awareness of the requirements and also encourage Trading Standards to ensure that appropriate enforcement action is taken. The law requiring EPCs for commercial properties has been in place since April 2008 and it is unacceptable that compliance falls well short of universal levels, two years after implementation.

On your final point with respect to Home Condition Survey, I do not support the mandatory introduction of these as I do not believe that they would be viewed as a credible source of information by homebuyers particularly given the confused way in whcih HIPs were introduced by the Government.

I hope that you fine the information above useful and that you are reassured of the Liberal Democrats' commitment to EPCs.

Letter gives clue to Conservative thinking on HIPs and EPCs

The Conservative Party is still determined to abolish the Home Information Pack but according to a recent letter received from a Prospective Parliamentary Candidate it will be the Party’s intention to ‘....introduce innovative ways to help home buyers, including speeding up the introduction of e-conveyancing and facilitating more competition in the local authority search market’.

In the same letter sent by an energy assessor in response to concern expressed about the Party’s policy on the HIP and EPC, the PPC advised that the EPC would no longer be required before marketing, with the only condition being that the EPC has to be commissioned before that stage. The PPC put this possible Party decision as following: ‘Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) would be retained, but they would last up to ten years and a home could be put on the market provided an EPC had been commissioned (rather than requiring an EPC to already be in place)’.

No cheer but at least we have a hint of the Party’s future steer on the HIP and the EPC. It’s a shame however that in the run up the election we still do not know for certain when the HIP would go if the Conservatives gain power and whether they would look to keep the HIP in place until the ‘innovative ways to help home buyers’ are put into place. It would also be good to hear whether there are plans to avoid the domestic EPC market turning into the same mess with compliance as witnessed in the commercial sector.

The truth is nobody can make any serious business plans until the election is over, and a clearer picture of the governing party or parties’ policy on matters affecting our industry emerges.

Full Letter:

We will abolish Home Information Packs. However, we will seek to introduce innovative ways to help home buyers, including speeding up the introduction of e-conveyancing and facilitating more competition in the local authority search market). Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) would be retained, but they would last up to ten years and a home could be put on the market provided an EPC had been commissioned (rather than requiring an EPC to already be in place).

EPCs would also support our Green Deal. This will give every household in Britain the right to have home energy efficiency improvements worth up to £6,500. The upfront costs will be privately financed by banks and investment funds; and repaid over a period of up to 25 years through the savings on energy bills. A typical home could see around £20 a month knocked off its bill.

In business, I believe change brings opportunity. You are already well position in the EPC market, and I would hope that the other policies in this field could be areas of expansion for your business.

Property Experts overwhelmingly come out in support of the HIP

It has been so easy for Grant Shapps and the other opponents( who seem to be diminishing in numbers) of Home Information Packs to use ‘self interest’ as a weapon whenever a supporter dares to step forward with evidence and intellectual argument on why the HIP should be retained. Indeed this week saw the continuation of an argument started last week when Mr Shapps took it upon himself to challenge, on this very basis, the integrity of a poll commissioned by AHIPP and carried out by IPSOS MORI.

Mr Shapps seems however, based on news emerging yesterday, to be boxing him into a corner with this policy. In a vote of around 100 industry leaders, at The Land Data Great Housing Debate held in Westminster, only four members of the audience voted to scrap HIPs while the majority supported the motion to adapt but not scrap them.

One of those experts, David Newnes, managing director of leading estate agency chain, Your Move, said HIPs had helped stem transaction fall-throughs this year and last, with the rate of exchanges significantly improving from around 33% each month to around 42%.

This is good news for those like the Hip Reform Group who have been tirelessly campaigning over the past 12 months for the HIP to be retained and for discussion to take place on how the HIP can be improved for the benefit of the consumer.

Hopefully the strength of support shown by such a large body of property professionals will at long last begin to register on Mr Shapps’ radar.

Conservative HIP replacement, HIP opponent 'U' turn and the Lib Dems - what a week!

A crazy week when we saw the LibDems produce their manifesto with unexpected news of their desire to end the HIP and then soar to second place in the polls. Clearly no connection between the two, though it is a shame they saw fit to jump onto a so called populist policy when it was clear from the performance of their under rated leader, Nick Clegg, that there was no need to resort to such desperate measures.

The fact the LibDems offer something new with some independent thinking, well at least on the surface, is what makes their party an attractive option to the two main forces which are still clearly tainted by expense abuse and accusations of being too much alike. They clearly did not need to throw into a well presented manifesto a pledge that countered all signals previously given, and which was clearly not representative of the views of their membership as a whole.

It was quite ironic in one sense as the news came at the same time as an announcement within an article within the Daily Mail ( 16th April ) that contained two items of reporting that disclosed some hope for the HIP industry.

The first was news that the Conservative Party has apparently appointed property guru Kirstie Allsopp to investigate and report on a possible replacement for the HIP. The other and perhaps more significant development is news that one of the most vocal of opponents to HIPs, estate agents Douglas and Gordon, has come out and said it has changed its view now saying the HIP should remain in place as it is, surprise, surprise, helping to speed up the selling process.

Should we trust politicians who twitter and jump on populist bandwagons

I read today a record of an interview between Channel 4 and Grant Shapps conducted on Twitter. It was rather bizarre to see a senior politician responding to questions in what often appeared as ‘text speech’.

I suppose Mr. Shapps who carries odds of 40/1 to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, considers this to be a cool method of communicating that demonstrates his connection with modern lines of communication and which he hopes will make him more attractive to the younger generation.

The fact that his Welwyn Hatfield constituency is heavily populated with students may also have a bearing on his obsession with social networking tools of this type.

Unfortunately looking at his answers its seems Mr. Shapps was more interested in demonstrating his twitter shorthand than providing meaningful responses. In one response, which was of particular interest to me, he talked about making the stamp duty concession recently introduced by Government permanent, and about abolishing the HIP, surprisingly adding that by doing this it is his hope it will help to kick start the property market.

I can only imagine that Mr. Shapps has been so wrapped up in election campaigning, and no doubt practicing his twitter skills, that he has not seen any of the recent articles in which there have been reports from various independent sources on how market activity has returned to levels last seen before the introduction of the HIP.

Even the most ardent opponent of the HIP would find it difficult to argue otherwise; it’s a shame that a politician who could be our next housing minister is so out of touch.

Should I be surprised? Clearly not, particularly in a week when we see the LibDems jumping on the populist bandwagon by adding to its manifesto the statement of intent to abolish the HIP. Where did that come from? There was no discussion about this at their last party conference and I know for a fact that a large number of their own members were equally surprised.

No wonder there are so many of us who are, despite efforts to understand politics and a desire to place trust, left feeling deflated and very confused. So much so, it is easy to see why a large proportion of the electorate will simply not vote.

Politicians are driven by the desire for power and will do and say whatever they consider necessary to ensure they get their way. As demonstrated by Mr. Shapps obsession with Twitter, this election seems to be more about presentation and sound bites, and less about listening and responding to the concerns of the electorate. Perhaps the time has come for us to make a stand and to engineer through tactical voting a hung parliament. This may be the only means of getting the political parties to listen to what we have to say.

Fall in polls relights Grant Shapps love for HIPs

A fall in the polls was bound to be the trigger for Grant Shapps to renew his attack on the beleaguered HIP. This time we have him picking up on the results of an IPSOS MORI poll commissioned by AHIPP. In his attack which can be found HERE he picks up on the methodology and accuses AHIPP of manipulating the result by contacting people who had been engaged in the home selling process and ignoring those who had not! Not sure how he can expect a poll on home selling can be carried out without consulting with those who had not had recent experience in the process.

The statement is also misleading as it says 15% of those polled said they were deterred from selling their home. Clearly Mr Shapps (or as is more likely his researchers) have not studied the results closely as although they show that 15% were put off by the cost of the HIP, the fact is that 15% still went ahead and marketed their property!

This nonsense also comes at a time when many property professionals including estate agents Douglas and Gordon, known past contributors to the Conservative Party, have come out to say they now see the HIP in a different light and as a stage in the process which is actually helping to speed up the sale of property. The rebuttal also has no support when one looks at the latest market statistics showing property listings are now back to where they were before the HIP was introduced.

This all suggests Grant Shapps is struggling to keep up with the views of those very people he could find himself working with in the future, as well as current market trends. This does not bode well when he and his Party are asking us to vote Conservative and in so doing elevate him to the post of Housing Minister.

This outburst also smacks of hypocrisy. It was not too long ago that Grant Shapps was spearheading a campaign to find ways to improve the sale process and was actually instrumental in commissioning what was labelled as the ‘Home Buyers Review’ SEE HERE . Concerned about the time it was taking to sell property Grant Shapps put together a group of experts to examine and report back on how the process could be improved. Surprise, surprise the survey was carried out but the results have never been released. Why? Well I am sure I can leave you to draw your own conclusions.

We should all be calling upon Mr Shapps to publish the results of his report rather than attack the results of a report that was commissioned by an independent and well respected survey body. We should also respond to Grant Shapps on Twitter as this was how he launched his recent attack on the HIP. Find him HERE: