HIPs delayed until August

Posted on 22 May 2007

No Comments

Home Information Packs (HIPs) will not be introduced on June 1, the government has announced this afternoon.

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly bowed to pressure from legal action brought by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and criticism from opposition parties. In her statement to the House of Commons, she said that a delay in introduction was “a practical way forward.”

According to BBC News, the decision came after a judge ruled that the Energy Performance Certificate element of HIPs should not be introduced “for the time being”.

The packs are now due to be phased in, starting with houses of four bedrooms and more, from August 1. Home-sellers will also be allowed to market their properties as soon as they have commissioned a pack, rather than waiting until the pack has been completed.

Writing in his blog this afternoon, Charcol’s Ray Boulger commented: “After the debacles over SIPPs, Pension Term Assurance and the Alternative Secured Pension this is just the latest example of the Government ignoring advice from professionals practicing in the relevant field and then being forced to back down at the 11th hour.”

Category: House and home, Regulation

• Save to del.icio.us
• Digg this story