Issue 13 : 17 May 2007

www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk

PROGRESS TOWARDS GO LIVE ON 1 JUNE

We are continuing to make good progress ahead of the introduction of HIPs on 1 June. 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.

Update on yesterday’s debate in the House of Commons

In yesterday’s Commons Debate on HIPs, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper strongly defended HIPs and the importance of including Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), saying they are vital in helping to tackle climate change while the packs give house-buyers more information upfront about their new home and cut costs for first-time buyers.

Yvette Cooper said:

“The only new document that is being added to the process is the Energy Performance Certificate. The certificates will give people’s homes an energy rating for the first time. They will give people not only the rating on their home but information on what they can do about it — what their fuel bills are likely to be and how they can cut them.

“The remaining elements of HIPs are the legal and search documents that one already needs when buying and selling a home, but they will be gathered at the beginning rather than the end of the process, to speed things up and improve competition. For many of us, buying and selling a home is a baffling process. There can be huge delays between offer and exchange. In complex chains, that can mean that sales fall through. Most people will struggle to keep track of what services they are getting and paying for. HIPs will make the process much clearer and faster”.

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CLG position on Judicial Review

On 15 May 2007 the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said it would seek a judicial review of the introduction of HIPs because it claims that the government had not consulted properly on the EPC.

A spokesman for Communities and Local Government said: “This challenge is groundless, and we will proceed with the packs being introduced on June 1.
“This is a shocking example of a vested interest wanting to water down important environmental information”.

Domestic Energy Assessors — get accredited now

Any DEAs who wish to start work on 1 June and are not yet accredited or fully qualified should click here for more information.

Do you need to find someone to produce an Energy Performance Certificate or a Home Condition Report?

To find an Energy Assessor who can produce Energy Performance Certificates or, a Home Inspector who can produce both Home Condition Reports and Energy Performance Certificates, you need to:

• start your search from your local directory/internet business listings; or
• search on the HCR and EPC Registers website. This has a public search facility for
  Domestic Energy Assessors and Home Inspectors

If your search is unsuccessful you can contact directly one of the accreditation or certification schemes who have details of their members.

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Direct marketing — order your HIP toolkit in time for 1 June

The HIPs starter toolkit has been put together to help businesses prepare for 1 June.

The toolkit comes with leaflets, for sale board stickers, HIPs form templates and window posters, as well as a CD of files which can be used to produce your own HIPs-related promotional material.

To order up to 20 toolkits at no charge go to:
http://www.home-information.info/doc?id=72
or contact us at:
HIP Publications
PO Box 236
Wetherby
LS23 7NB.
Alternatively, you can call 0870 1226 236, send a fax 0870 1226 237, textphone 0870 120 7405 or
e-mail: communities@twoten.com

Be sure to quote the HIP toolkit product code 06HIPI04196/EM2 when requesting your packs.

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Creating an asset rating (ie EPC graphs for particulars) — update

Estate agents need to display the asset rating found in the Energy Performance Certificate on property particulars. You can now generate these graphs using our Excel spreadsheet.

Alternatively, if you just want to print out a page showing the asset rating, you can use this online tool.
Please note: this online tool was developed by Quest Associates independently of CLG, and the Department does not accept any liability for the accuracy of any graphs produced using this template. Anyone using the template does so at their own risk.

Reminder — Procedural Guidance

A reminder that the Procedural Guidance to the Home Information Pack regulations 2007 is available to you here. The guidance is intended to provide help on interpretation of the regulations and will be of particular interest to those who are directly involved in the production of the Home Information Packs.

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