07/12/07 - Cllr Justin Tomlinson, Conservatives To Speed Up House Sales

Kirstie Allsopp & Grant Shapps MP

The Tories have launched a review aimed at speeding up the way homes are bought and sold in England and Wales.

The party has recruited property expert Kirstie Allsopp to help come up with ideas to make the process less expensive and stressful.

Shadow Housing Minister Grant Shapps says the party would start by ditching the new Home Information Packs (HIPs).

The government says the packs - which will be needed for all sales from next Friday - are benefiting consumers.

But Mr Shapps said they had "introduced wasteful red tape and up-front costs to the seller with little or no appreciable advantage to the buyer".

He said the Conservatives would keep the government's Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) but wanted to "improve the process of moving home".

He said Labour had "failed hopelessly to speed up the home buying and selling process and may even have slowed it down".

He told BBC News 24: "It takes a ridiculous amount of time and it is very expensive. I think we can do it better and that is what this review is going to be about."

'Stress'

Ms Allsopp, who co-presents Channel 4 property show Location, Location, Location, said the house-buying process in England and Wales was "mired in pointless bureaucracy and red tape".

"My feeling personally is that it takes too long and that the stress that happens during the process causes a lot of breakdowns.

"It is a stress which we don't need and it's one we can do something about.

"It is my ambition to make it easier for people to buy and sell houses."

She said she would be seeking the views of homebuyers on the best way of reforming the system and was prepared to consider all ideas - except keeping HIPs.

"If everyone says they like HIPs I will walk naked across College Green," she added.

'Helping consumers'

The Conservatives have also signed up property expert Owen Inskip to focus on the housing industry, seeking the views of estate agents, surveyors, solicitors and mortgage lenders.

Mr Shapps said the review would look at how homes are bought and sold in other countries, including Northern Ireland, where EPCs have been introduced without HIPs, and Scotland.

"They actually have a system [in Scotland] where both sides commit at an earlier stage.

"That has its problems as well but it's certainly a system we will be looking at," he told BBC News.

HIPs will be required for all properties being sold in England and Wales from 14 December. Since September, all properties with three or more bedrooms have required a HIP before they can be sold.

The average cost of a HIP is between £300 and £350.

BBC News Online 07/12/07

Cllr Justin Tomlinson, North Swindon Prospective MP, "We welcome Kirstie Allsop supporting the Conservatives campaign to speed up the sale of houses.  As is so typical of this Labour Government their meddling has caused additional red-tape and extra costs hitting anyone who wishes to sell their homes."