After five days of deliberation and intense political drama, we have a coalition government. David Cameron and Nick Clegg are, as I write trying to work through exactly how this new government will work. The Conservatives stated within their manifesto that they will abolish the Home Information Pack "within a 100 days" of government.
If this is indeed the case, the question of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rears its head. This was created as a response to the EU Directive 2002/91/EC on the Energy Performance of Buildings. Therefore it would not necessarily be easy to drop it IF the HIP is to be removed.
The Directive specifically states the following, "Member States shall ensure that, when buildings are constructed, sold or rented out, an energy performance certificate is made available to the owner or by the owner to the prospective buyer or tenant, as the case may be." All which suggests that the EPC may have to remain in place in a "HIP light".
Any proper Consultation into abolishing the Home Information Pack could also reveal opportunities to improve the Conveyancing process. For example, in looking at the not-implemented Home Condition Report, or in the area of ordering and preparing documentation that is essential and could (and does) help speed up the process by creating Exchange Ready contracts.
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