Government changes HIPs rules to help struggling housing market

A change in the rules on Home Information Packs has highlighted Government fears that property has become almost impossible to sell.

From October, the key part of the controversial packs, the Energy Performance Certificate, will be valid for three years rather than one.

It is a sign that Labour wants to avoid forcing cash-strapped homeowners to pay for two or even more £100 EPCs on a home which is stuck on the market.

The move comes as the housing market shows signs of being ' virtually paralysed', according to a report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Less than one home per week is being sold by estate agencies in London, the South-East and the South-West.

One RICS member said: 'There is almost no residential market.' Another said: 'It will be a lonely winter for agents.'

A spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government said: 'With the change to three-year validity of Energy Performance Certificates we are providing the increased flexibility that many sellers were asking for.'

HIPs have been dogged by fierce criticism and constant rule changes even before they were introduced last August, and the controversy has not abated.

Even a Government-commissioned report, published earlier this year, revealed they are ignored or not trusted by homebuyers.

Around 80 per cent of buyers did not even see the pack before making an offer for a property.

In another crushing finding, nearly 60 per cent of buyers disagreed with the statement: 'Having the HIP sped up the buying process.'

The central ambition of the HIP was to improve the process of buying and selling property in this country, but critics say it has done the opposite.