According to the latest official Government figures, there are now over 1,603 accredited Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA) ready to produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPC). This is already more than enough to cope with all four bedroom properties across the nation when 1 August arrives.
Dominic Toller, director of New Business and Marketing at LMS, said: “The time has now come for HIPs to start proving themselves. Now is the time for facts to be separated from fiction. The housing market needs reform; HIPs are the best move in the right direction for a long time.
“There has been so much scare-mongering about HIPs and their cost, or predicted devastating impact on the housing market, that the consumer is rightly confused. The truth is that market forces will keep the cost of HIPs competitively priced and HIPs will radically reduce the number of failed transactions. How can this be bad news for any party?”
Meanwhile Mike Ockenden, director general at the Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP), commented: “While yesterday’s vote in the Lords, which went against the latest Home Information Pack (HIP) regulations was not fatal and will not hinder the Government’s resolve to introduce HIPs as planned on 1st August, it is disappointing that the Tories have once again made a political football out of packs.
“On the same day as the Lord’s voted against the HIP regulations, we announced the latest figures from the relevant accreditation bodies, which show that there are now 1,999 fully accredited energy assessors ready to produce Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) for the 1st August. These figures show that we are just one assessor away from reaching the Government’s target of the 2,000 assessors, which are needed to extend the phased implementation of HIPs to properties with three bedrooms or more.
“Despite this latest vote, which went against HIPs by a small majority, it is reassuring that Government’s resolve, has not been shaken. Clearly Tory politicising is not going to get in the way of delivering this vital reform to the benefit of consumers and the environment.”
