HIPs creaking already

Companies banking on exploiting the introduction of home information packs (HIPs) have suffered a setback as Government minister Ruth Kelly has delayed the date HIPs come into force from 1 June to 1 August. Even then, HIPs will only be mandatory for houses with four bedrooms or more until resources are adequate to cope – apparently there aren’t enough assessors to carry out the evaluations needed for all parts of the pack, with only a quarter of those needed having been accredited so far.

Furthermore, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has lobbied to have the energy performance certificates re-examined, although it supports their eventual introduction. A Judicial Review is pending.

Quoted ventures eagerly awaiting the introduction of HIPs include PSG Solutions, already a major player in the property search field, and LSL Property Services, the group behind estate agencies Your Move and Reeds Rains. LSL concurs that ‘activity levels in the housing market are uncertain in light of the short-term upward momentum in interest rates and the potential introduction of home information packs now delayed to 1 August’.

Even though charity National Energy Services (NES) expressed disappointment with the roll-out delay, it offered a ray of light with the news that it is registering a swathe of extra qualified and accredited energy assessors every day and is looking forward to the full implementation of HIPs in August. Said NES managing director Brian Scannell: ‘The Secretary of State confirmed today that 520 energy assessors are currently fully accredited; 419 of these are within our accreditation scheme. We have an additional 360 in the process of signing up and more than 1,000 others coming towards the end of their training. Given the number of fully qualified and accredited energy assessors being created every single day we look forward to the Government pushing ahead with full implementation.’