Govt ready to extend Hips scheme
The government announced the second stage of the home information pack (Hip) rollout today but there is still no sign of when the process will be extended across the whole housing market.
Homeowners marketing a three bedroom property will need a Hip, including Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), from September 10, the communities department confirmed today.
Hips were originally meant to be introduced across the housing market on June 1 but the government was forced to delay their introduction because of a shortage of trained energy assessors.
The scheme – which the government claims will transform the housing market to benefit consumers and the environment – had already been beset with criticism and faced a legal challenge, launched by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).
Amid taunts from the Conservatives of an embarrassing u-turn, former communities secretary Ruth Kelly said the scheme would be delayed until August 1, and then only applied to houses of four bedrooms or more.
Now, with the number of trained energy assessors increasing, the communities department believes the market will be ready for more Hips from next month “having taken into account the operation of Hips in the market”.
Communities minister Baroness Andrews said: “We are now ready to start rolling out Hips and EPCs to the next part of the market as promised, and improve a home buying and selling process which currently is not working for consumers or the environment.”
Baroness Andrews continued: “Hips and EPCs can help families to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills, and cut a million tonnes of carbon a year.
“They also have the potential to reduce the millions of pounds wasted by consumers when buying and selling a home, by increasing transparency and competition in a process that hasn’t changed for a generation.”
Through EPCs, each home is given an energy efficiency assessment, modelled on the A-G rating applied to consumer goods such as fridges.
The government hopes this will encourage homeowners to improve their home’s energy efficiency, working to reduce bills and cut carbon emissions.
To help homeowners the communities department has made available ‘green grants’ of up to £300 to fund improvements such as insulation.
Although welcoming today’s announcement, the Association of Hip Providers (HIPPP) called on the government to extend the scheme to one and two bedroom properties as soon as possible.
The initial delay sparked concerns among newly-recruited energy assessors that they would be out of work until the scheme is fully introduced.
HIPP said today energy assessors should feel confident they will be in work and the government is committed to Hips.
