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Home info packs delayed to August Home info packs delayed to August
(20 minutes later)
The introduction of Home Information Packs is to be delayed until 1 August - when they will be brought in for sales of homes with four bedrooms or more.The introduction of Home Information Packs is to be delayed until 1 August - when they will be brought in for sales of homes with four bedrooms or more.
The packs were due to become compulsory for all home sales from 1 June.The packs were due to become compulsory for all home sales from 1 June.
But Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly told MPs the packs would be phased in, starting with sales of large homes.But Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly told MPs the packs would be phased in, starting with sales of large homes.
She also said that initially sellers would only have to have commissioned a pack, rather than have a completed one, before marketing their property.She also said that initially sellers would only have to have commissioned a pack, rather than have a completed one, before marketing their property.
The delay comes after a judge, ruling on a legal challenge from surveyors, said the energy performance certificates should be left out of the packs "for the time being".The delay comes after a judge, ruling on a legal challenge from surveyors, said the energy performance certificates should be left out of the packs "for the time being".
The legal challenge from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) was based on what they said was a lack of proper consultation on the packs.The legal challenge from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) was based on what they said was a lack of proper consultation on the packs.
PACKS WILL INCLUDE Evidence of titleCopies of planning, listed building or building regulations consentsA local searchGuarantees for any work on the propertyAn energy performance certificate. Q&A: Home Information PacksPACKS WILL INCLUDE Evidence of titleCopies of planning, listed building or building regulations consentsA local searchGuarantees for any work on the propertyAn energy performance certificate. Q&A: Home Information Packs
Ms Kelly told MPs that RICS and the government had reached "a pragmatic way forward that gives certainty and allows us to get on with implementation".Ms Kelly told MPs that RICS and the government had reached "a pragmatic way forward that gives certainty and allows us to get on with implementation".
However a spokesman for RICS denied they had agreed to drop the legal challenge and questioned how the packs could be introduced from 1 August, when the 12 week consultation agreed to would still be taking place. However, a spokesman for RICS denied they had agreed to drop the legal challenge and questioned how the packs could be introduced from 1 August, when the 12-week consultation agreed to would still be taking place.
Ministers have increasingly used the energy certificates to justify the packs, saying they would help to persuade people to make their homes more energy efficient and thus cut carbon emissions.Ministers have increasingly used the energy certificates to justify the packs, saying they would help to persuade people to make their homes more energy efficient and thus cut carbon emissions.
'Misinformation''Misinformation'
Ms Kelly said that, in the wake of the legal ruling, it was worth delaying the packs rather than launching them without the energy certificate.Ms Kelly said that, in the wake of the legal ruling, it was worth delaying the packs rather than launching them without the energy certificate.
The two-month delay would give more time for energy assessors to be trained, admitting that there were only 520 fully trained and accredited assessors - rather than the 2,000 or more needed. She said the two-month delay would give more time for energy assessors to be trained, admitting that there were only 520 fully trained and accredited assessors - rather than the 2,000 or more needed.
She blamed the shortage of assessors on uncertainty about packs as a result of "misinformation" from opponents and the legal challenge.She blamed the shortage of assessors on uncertainty about packs as a result of "misinformation" from opponents and the legal challenge.
There were plenty more assessors currently being trained and the packs would be brought in for smaller properties after August "as rapidly as possible - as sufficient energy assessors become ready to work", she said.There were plenty more assessors currently being trained and the packs would be brought in for smaller properties after August "as rapidly as possible - as sufficient energy assessors become ready to work", she said.
HAVE YOUR SAY We have put our house on the market a month early simply to avoid the cost of these packs Laura Berbank, Medway Send us your commentsHAVE YOUR SAY We have put our house on the market a month early simply to avoid the cost of these packs Laura Berbank, Medway Send us your comments
Shadow housing minister Michael Gove described the delay as a "desperate last-minute retreat".Shadow housing minister Michael Gove described the delay as a "desperate last-minute retreat".
"The government's plans for HIPs are unravelling. Ministers must now acknowledge that they have botched this from beginning to end. "How can ministers ever again ask to be taken seriously on the environment when they have comprehensively mismanaged a measure they argued throughout was vital to fighting climate change?"
"Now is the time to work with us in the interests of the housing market and combating climate change." The Liberal Democrats said the government had shown "complete incompetence" over the packs.
Its local government spokesman Andrew Stunell said: "The piecemeal implementation of this jinxed scheme will only result in yet more confusion for buyers and sellers.
"Tackling climate change requires improving the energy efficiency of existing homes, but the one measure proposed by ministers is now delayed because of their bungling."
Environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth called the energy performance certificates "a crucial measure that will help householders tackle climate change and cut energy bills".Environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth called the energy performance certificates "a crucial measure that will help householders tackle climate change and cut energy bills".
Any delay to HIPs would "inevitably" delay the introduction of energy certificates, a spokesman said.