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Hips extended to three-bed homes Hips extended to three-bed homes
(31 minutes later)
The government has said it will extended its Home Information Pack scheme (Hips) to cover three-bedroom homes from 10 September, 2007. The government has said it will extend its Home Information Pack scheme (Hips) to cover three-bedroom homes from 10 September 2007.
Hips are intended to speed up house sales, but critics say it makes the process expensive and bureaucratic.Hips are intended to speed up house sales, but critics say it makes the process expensive and bureaucratic.
They were introduced on 1 August for four-bedroom homes and contain title deeds, local searches and an energy performance certificate. They were introduced on 1 August for four-bedroom homes and contain title deeds, local searches and an energy performance certificate (EPCs).
The packs cost between £400 and £700 to compile. Hips packs cost the seller between £400 and £700 to compile.
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." The change only applies to homes in England and Wales; Scotland is set to get its own version of Hips in 2008.
She said that announcements on other properties would be made "in due course". 'As promised'
The introduction of Hips was beset by problems, and the government delayed their introduction because there were not enough qualified inspectors to produce EPCs.
Originally the government had wanted to introduce Hips for all houses put up for sale in England and Wales from 1 June.
However, in the end it pushed the starting date by two months and limited the initial roll-out to properties with four or more bedrooms.
On Friday, the government "confirmed there will be enough energy assessors, nationally and regionally, to roll out to three-bedroom homes next month, having taken into account the operation of Hips in the market".
It added that there would be a further announcement on rolling out Hips and EPCs to other properties "in due course".
Green savings
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."
"Hips and EPCs can help families to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills, and cut a million tonnes of carbon a year," she continued.
"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."
Originally, Hips were also intended to include a survey, but this was dropped after objections from the industry.