HOME INFORMATION PACKS UPDATE

February 2007

www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk

UPDATE ON PROGRESS TOWARDS GO LIVE
ON 1 JUNE

A number of milestones have been achieved towards 1 June when HIPs go live. The purpose of this bulletin is to bring you up-to-date with the latest headlines, with further information available on the Home Information Packs website.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are on course for roll-out on 1 June and the key infrastructure is now in place.

• The National Occupational Standard (NOS) and three qualifications have been approved to enable those wishing to become Domestic Energy Assessors (DEAs) to get trained up and ready to produce EPCs from June.  The NOS for DEAs has been approved by the QCA and qualifications are already offered by ABBE and BRE, and the NAEA will be offering a qualification from 1 March. Many people are already in training.
• In addition, we have established new standards for accreditation, and schemes which apply to accredit assessors will be expected to meet them. Some potential assessors will be new to the field and will need to be trained from scratch; others will come with many years of professional experience. That is why we are asking accreditation schemes to consider a wider range of methods for accrediting that experience rather than expecting all assessors to pass an examination. Achieving the NOS is non-negotiable but we want to see flexibility in how this is achieved.
• A series of roadshows, arranged in conjunction with Asset Skills, are currently underway to ensure that potential DEAs are aware of the training opportunities on offer for a new career. Dates and locations for these are as follows:

14 February	Leeds
21 February	Southampton
23 February	Liverpool
27 February	Cardiff
28 February	Birmingham
2 March	London

These have generated a great deal of interest.

• We have also produced a leaflet promoting the opportunities and providing information about how to become a DEA. This will be made available on our website within the next couple of days.
• Further information on EPC and DEAs can be found on the website.

Area Trials

Activity associated with the Area Trials is progressing apace. The purpose of the trials is to gain the broadest possible experience of different types of housing market in advance of 1 June to ensure the smooth introduction of HIPs.

The key features are as follows:

• More than 1,500 free HIPs have been provided so far in the six area trials, which started last November in Bath, Cambridge, Northampton, Southampton, Huddersfield and Newcastle upon Tyne. 60% of these HIPs have included a Home Condition Report (HCR).
• On Wednesday 14 February 2007 these six area trials moved into Phase 2 of the incentive regime. This means that the trial incentive has changed, so that the mandatory components of the HIP are free and sellers will only need to pay the difference between the cost of the HCR and the EPC, should they wish to include a HCR in their pack.
• Two new area trials commenced on Monday 12 February in Southwark and North-West Wales (Gwynedd, Conwy and Anglesey). The Southwark launch event was well attended by estate agents, HIP Providers and Home Inspectors. The launch of the North-West Wales trials will take place in Llandudno this coming Monday, 19 February.
• For details of participants in the Area Trials, please visit the links down the left-hand side of the website.
• To reflect additional activity being undertaken across England and Wales by the Association of HIP Providers (AHIPP) and other organisations, the Department is extending its consumer communications — including advertising in local papers and on local radio (due to commence next week) — to cover the following areas:

Basingstoke Bristol Cardiff Chelmsford Coventry

Exeter Hereford Leicester Manchester

Norwich Nottingham Plymouth Torquay

• Further information on the area trials can be found on the website.

Baseline Research

Last summer the Department commissioned the Building Research Establishment (BRE), working in partnership with Ipsos MORI, to conduct research in order to provide a baseline against which to measure the impact of Home Information Packs. The final report was published alongside the Home Information Pack Update consultative document on 25 January.

The report confirms that the current home buying and selling process is slow, costly and uncertain. The failings inherent in the current process combine to prevent effective price competition and contribute to delays, uncertainty, transaction failures and wasted costs, leaving many consumers with a raw deal.

Home Information Pack Update: towards 1 June

You should all by now have received the above consultation document with details of our proposals for helping to ensure a smooth introduction of HIPs on 1 June.

Remember that the deadline for letting us have your views is next Wednesday, 21 February. Please send your comments to:

HIP Policy Team, Communities and Local Government,
2/J9 Eland House, Bressenden Place,
LONDON  SW1E 5DU
homeinformationpacks@communities.gov.uk