Home packs launch postponed

The Government bowed to months of pressure from the property industry and put off the introduction of controversial home information packs.

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly announced that the launch of the packs, known as Hips, will be put back until August 1, after which there will be a phased introduction.
The embarrassing U-turn comes just eight days before the packs were due to become law for anyone selling their home on the open market in England and Wales.

A failure to have enough domestic energy assessors accredited in time for the planned introduction of home information packs - which will require homes to have an energy performance certificate - has led to the delay.

The Government had previously claimed that the 2,000 assessors required to cover the property market would be ready for June 1. However, Ms Kelly revealed there were just 520 currently fully accredited.

Meanwhile, a judge ruling on a legal challenge from surveyors proposed leaving out the energy performance certificates from the packs 'for the time being'. Opposition MPs have attacked the Government for its failure to listen to property experts and to heed warnings until the last minute.

After June 1, all home sellers should have supplied a pack, costing around £500, that contained information on title deeds, local authority searches, leasehold information (where applicable) and an energy performance certificate supplied by a trained and accredited domestic energy assessor.

Ms Kelly said Hips and energy performance certificates would initially apply to four-bedroom properties and larger, and would be introduced for smaller homes as soon as possible.

Sellers will also only have to commission a pack, rather than complete one, before marketing their property.

Ms Kelly said introducing Hips without energy performance certificates (EPCs) would be neither practical nor acceptable. She said a further 1,000 energy assessors have completed training and have applied for accreditation.

After months of speculation, evidence emerged recently that there would be a severe shortage of trained assessors ready for the launch date - with the Government-backed directory of assessors listing only a handful in major cities.

A search on the website hcrregister.com showed just one registered assessor in London, one in Manchester and none in Birmingham.

The Government has been attacked on all flanks by the property industry, which says that Hips have been rushed in without adequate preparation.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) announced last week that it was seeking a judicial review into the Department of Communities' handling of the launch. It was as a result of the Rics action that a judge suggested leaving out the energy certificates.

Simon Lambert, This is Money
22 May 2007