Hips suffer another blow

Posted: 19 Jul 2007 11:08:47 GMT

Home information packs (Hips) have suffered another blow just weeks before they are due to introduced to the UK housing market.

Home information packs (Hips) have suffered another blow just weeks before they are due to introduced to the UK housing market.

The controversial packs have already had their launch date postponed due to a lack of qualified energy assessors and now the House of Lords has voted to call on the government to revoke their introduction.

The government was forced into an embarrassing stand down on Hips just days before they were due to be introduced on June 1st.

A new launch date of August 1st was decided upon but now Lords have voted 186 to 160 in favour of asking the government to cancel Hips.

Ministers are free to ignore the vote as it was not a "fatal bill" but the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is calling upon them to heed the warnings.

"Even at this late stage, with the phased introduction of Hips due to start on August 1st, we yet again call on the government to proceed with the energy performance certificate – which we are in full support of – and to scrap the remainder of this ill-thought out pack," said NAEA chief executive Peter Bolton Smith.

Hips will be mandatory in the sale of homes with four or more bedrooms from August 1st with a blanket rollout planned in the coming months.

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