HIPs put off in England & Wales
22 May 07
Packs to apply only to larger houses from 1 August as government retreats after ruling
Home improvement packs, due to be compulsory for all residential property sales in England & Wales from 1 June, have been put off to 1 August, the government announced today following a High Court ruling.
Even then, they will be phased in, beginning with houses of four or more bedrooms.
The climbdown came after a judge, ruling on an application for judicial review brought by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said the energy performance certificates, a key feature of the packs, should be left out from them "for the time being".
The RICS claimed that there had been inadequate consultation ahead of the introduction of the HIPs. Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly admitted to MPs, when announcing the postponement, that there are also fewer accredited energy inspectors than are needed for the scheme to work.
The Law Society of England & Wales, which has described the scheme as fundamentally flawed, condemned the situation as "a complete shambles".
“The Government has turned the whole process of HIPs into a farce. Its consultation with stakeholders has fallen seriously short of what we would expect in a genuine consultation exercise for something as important as this for consumers”, said Paul Marsh, the Society's Deputy Vice President.
Purchasers' improvement packs including the compulsory seller's survey are due to be introduced in Scotland next year, though the Law Society of Scotland among others has called for a rethink. The English experience is being watched closely.