House of Lords votes against Home Information Packs

The House of Lords voted against the introduction of Home Information Packs today.

The move to revoke the legislation, due to come into law on 1 August, was carried by a majority of 20 but is highly unlikely to stop HIPs being introduced.

Tory peer Baroness Hanham described the policy as ridiculous and added: “There should be a complete rethink about the Energy Performance Certificates. They should be introduced on their own. They should not be part of the Hip process, which does not look as if it will be of benefit to buyers.”

Association of Home Information Pack Providers (AHIPP), responded by saying:

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.