Home Information Packs Are Now A Reality

Home Information Packs Are Now A Reality

So after a long and difficult birth we finally have the full Home  Information Pack ( HIP ) in all it’s truncated glory. To be fair it is  only half a HIP since the removal of the home condition report. The HIP  was intended to speed up the process of property buying and to save  money wasted on surveys, searches etc. on abortive purchases. Whether it  will achieve this aim was, and still is, hotly debated. However none of  this controversial birth seemed to much hinder the explosion of HIP  providers that has burst onto the scene, many claiming experience and  expertise well ahead of their actual activities in this area. Since the  removal of the Home Condition Report ( HCR ) the HIP provider as a  simple gatherer of the elements required to make up a HIP became  redundant. It is now possible for those involved in property  conveyancing to easily and cheaply put together their own HIPs. The only  element they need to obtain from expert and qualified sources is the  Energy Performance Certificate. ( EPC )

There is now a reasonably large well trained body of Domestic Energy  Assessors (DEAs) who are the only professionals qualified just to  provide EPCs. At present these expert professionals are gathered  together in regional panels working at the behest of the HIP providers  and at fees set by, and driven down by, the HIP providers to maximize  their own profits. To produce a HIP the DEA does not need the HIP  provider. They can source all the elements themselves. The HIP provider  must use the services of the DEA. A classic case of the tale wagging the  dog! Happily many DEAs have realised this and started to work locally,  providing a rapid professional service locally. Lets face it national  means nothing these days, all that’s needed is an internet connection,  but to produce an EPC requires someone locally to actually visit the  property! Southern Energy Assessments is a partnership of professional,  qualified DEAs working personally and locally to provide EPCs and HIPs  for local clients.

In all of these birthing pains the position of the estate agents is  difficult to understand. Granted they did not want HIPs in the first  place and have fought tooth and nail to prevent them and many I talk to  still seem to have the attitude that it’s all a ghastly dream and when  they awake in the morning it will all have disappeared. Hopefully they  will now start to accept the reality of the situation and to act  accordingly. Many with the attitude that they don’t want anything to do  with it and simply thrust it aside to a HIP provider are taking a risk  and also missing opportunities. The risk they are taking is that the  “national” HIP provider based miles from the estate agent must rely on  the services of a panel DEA to obtain the EPC. Many do not realise how  intrusive an energy assessment is. The assessor will need to enter every  room of the property and will take photographs. It should not be  necessary to spell out the potential for abuse in this situation and it  is surprising that agents are happy to, in effect, arrange for  completely anonymous unknown individuals to enter their clients’ homes.  If and when abuses occur it is likely the fallout will drop right onto  the agents own desk!

But none of this is necessary. Agents can remove the risks of anonymous  panel personnel by utilising the services of local DEA’s whom they have  met personally so that they know who is entering their clients homes.  Southern Energy Assessments as a partnership of fully qualified local  DEA’s fulfils this requirement. But agents can go further. They can  easily utilise their own junior staff to obtain the other elements of a  HIP and obtain the EPC from a partnership such as Southern Energy  Assessments. There is here also the opportunity to enhance their own  profits by charging a premium for the service or using it as an  incentive to new clients.

So now the full HIP requirement is a reality national HIP providers are  seen to be, in most respects, surplus to requirements and the market  will eventually become more localised, driven by the practicalities of  the EPC process. Agents, solicitors and householders will be much better  and more safely served by having a more personal and professional  contact with Energy Assessors, especially as later this year EPC’s will  also be required for rental properties and some non domestic properties.  The EPC is here to stay, it is an EU requirement. Whether the HIP  survives reains to be seen, The Conservative party along with most  environmental groups, is committed to abolishing the HIP but will, in  line with its green credentials, continue to support the requirement for  EPCs.