Home Information Packs for 3 bedroom houses from 10 September

The Government has today announced that Home Information Packs (HIPs) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will be rolled out to three bedroom properties from September 10.

HIPs and EPCs are being introduced on a phased basis to ensure a smooth transition in the housing market, and to begin the process of transforming the home buying and selling process in the interests of consumers and the environment at the earliest opportunity.

Following the introduction of the packs for homes with four bedrooms and above on August 1, the Government has 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.

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."

"HIPs and EPCs can help families to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills, and cut a million tonnes of carbon a year. 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."

For further information about Home Information Packs please contact Elena Round.

This article is for the purpose of general awareness only and the law may have changed since it was originally published.  It does not constitute legal or professional advice and readers should not act on the basis of the information included.  Readers should take appropriate advice upon their own particular circumstances.