Should property lawyers be bracing themselves for more radical reform? Michael Garson reports
On 22 May 2007, the Communities Minister, Ruth Kelly, announced of yet another policy shift in respect of the commencement date for home information packs (HIPs). As with the announcement concerning the fate of the compulsory home condition report on 18 July 2006, this latest announcement was as hurried and ill-prepared as it was unexpected.
It followed assertions in the House of Commons on 16 May 2007 that 1 June would mark the implementation date under the timeline to which the government was committed and the industry had been working for the last 15 months. The reason admitted for the policy climb-down turns out to be a familiar one, as it emerged that only 520 energy assessors were qualified and registered to carry out energy inspections and issue certificates at that time. Last year it was the failure to meet the minimum target number of 4,500–7,000 qualified home inspectors.
There are a number of aspects to review as the next move
