DCLG has discovered that local authority searches can take up to 40 days and cost as much as £269, HIPs for leasehold properties take, on average, seven days longer to produce. DCLG previously required that, where a property was already on the market at 1 June 2007 it could continue to be marketed until October 2007 without a HIP. This has now been extended to 31 March 2008.

Previously a new HIP was required if a seller took the house off the market for more than 28 days and then put it back on. A new HIP will now not be needed for up to a year, provided the seller remains the same. EPCs must be the first document in the pack, and to emphasise the importance of tackling climate change, it should be attached to the estate agent’s particulars when any property is marketed.

Incomplete new homes marketed off-plan will require an Interim Energy Assessment (a slimmed down EPC) where they are sold before an EPC can be prepared. From April 2008 it is assumed that a mandatory assessment against the Code for Sustainable Homes will be available and will be included in the Pack. To speed up local authority searches there will be a review of the fees charged by local authorities, guidance will be issued to local authorities that they will be expected to follow.

DCLG will be issuing a leaflet for consumers: What to look for in your HIP anda single point for consumers to complain about HIPs. A trial is underway using an organisation called Consumer Direct. The Government has already passed regulations that all estate agents handling HIPs will have to belong to a dispute resolution scheme, but there is no announcement yet of what this scheme will look like. Fines for estate agents who fail to produce HIPs (including EPCs), will be reviewed after 1 June and could be raised to £500.

What does the Consultation Paper say about leasehold? Not a lot. The consultation paper does mention that the need for leasehold information can also result in some delays but does not make any specific proposals. For leasehold properties,the Paper says, "Obtaining the lease documents if they haven’t been kept by the seller can be a major cause of delay. Where fresh copies need to be obtained from the landlord or managing agent, this can take several weeks and come at a cost. This could delay an entire chain if the documents are not to hand before a chain forms."

By 27 March, EPC Regulations will set out detailed requirements for their content and presentation. On 29 March new Regulations will reflect the revised content of HIPs and, unless objected to in Parliament, will come into effect on 19 April. On 1 June HIPs, in their newly modified form, will go live.

Two further area trials were announced: Southwark, London from 12 February and North West Wales (Gwynedd, Conwy & Isle of Anglesey) from 19 February.

The National Association of Estate Agents said it was “delighted that, at long last, the Government accepts some of the concerns we have continually flagged up. However, whilst the rules in respect of first day marketing have been relaxed, the fact remains that you will not be allowed to market your home immediately.”

RESPONSE TO THE CONSULTATION PAPER

The guidelines will include:

• Provide clear menu of charges in advance
• Set service standards for timescales for the return of information to sellers who have requested and paid for documents
• ARHM recommends that the timescale should be no more than seven working days to send any documents to sellers.
• A leaflet setting out charges and timescales should be available to any leaseholder on request and be available on-line where members run a website.