The government's controversial home information pack (Hip) scheme will be rolled out to all properties in England and Wales from December 14, it was announced today.
The packs, which are already compulsory for all homes on the market with three bedrooms or more, are designed to speed up the selling process and reduce the number of sales that fall through.
They offer potential buyers upfront information about a property, including title deeds, search information and an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating its energy efficiency.
The communities and local government department said the roll out to all properties would reduce the upfront costs faced by first-time buyers and allow homebuyers to reduce household fuel bills and carbon emissions.
It said early monitoring of the scheme showed it had gone smoothly, with Hips taking an average of seven to 10 days to prepare and costing between £300-£350, less than the £400 anticipated before the scheme was launched.
However, critics of the scheme have said they are a waste of money, and suggested they will cause a further slowdown in the housing market.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) said the full introduction of Hips would "wipe 300,000 properties off estate agents books" as speculative sellers withdrew from the market.
Following the introduction of the packs on homes of four bedrooms or more on August 1, it reported a 51% fall in the number of homes of that size coming on to the market.
A 37% fall in the number of three-bedroom homes brought to market in September, when Hips were rolled out to cover properties of that size, was also blamed on Hips.
Rics, which took legal action against the government at the beginning of the summer over the packs, and in doing so delayed their introduction from the planned date of June 1, said a full roll out would hit first-time buyers.
The organisation's spokesman Jeremy Leaf said: "With prospective buyers and sellers currently taking a 'wait and see' approach to moving, activity in the housing market is grinding to a halt."
Leaf said accessibility to the housing market for first-time buyers would "go off the scale" as the supply of properties dried up.
"A lack of smaller properties for purchase will force first-time-buyers to remain in the lettings market where rents are already climbing at the fastest pace in over eight years," he said.
"If the housing minister genuinely wants to improve the plight of first-time-buyers, she should not continue with this flawed policy."
Strong argument for scheme roll out
But the government said an independent report it had commissioned from consultancy Europe Economics had found no impact on transactions or prices, except a short-term delay in new listings while a seller commissioned the pack.
It said the report had concluded the impact was short lived and marginal, and found strong arguments for carrying on with the planned roll out.
The housing minister, Yvette Cooper, said: "Hips and EPCs are already helping consumers to save hundreds of pounds off their fuel bills and are cutting search costs too.
"All homebuyers will be able to benefit from energy efficiency advice, with those receiving low green ratings of 'F' and 'G' especially targeted for support and grants to make improvements to cut their costs and carbon emissions."
The high number of leasehold properties among one- and two-bedroom properties has forced the government to temporarily amend the Hip regulations to allow homes to be put on the market with only a lease document included in the pack.
It had originally required other documents to appear, including statements of service charges and details of managing agents, but these have proved hard to obtain quickly.
The items will become compulsory in six months time, but in the meantime the government has asked the deputy chief executive of the Land Registry, Ted Beardsall, to look at how the provision of leasehold information can be improved.
Hilary Osborne
full article
Thursday 22 November 2007
Green Homes Service announced
The government is to invest £100 million in creating a 'Green Homes Service'. The Energy Savings Trust will conduct home energy audits, as well as offering advice on reducing waste and water use and connecting to grants and offers from energy companies.
Announcing the Green Homes Service environment secretary Hilary Benn said: "When it comes to cutting your carbon footprint, the old adage 'there's no place like home' really is true. We need to make this as easy as possible for people to do. There's a lot of help out there in the form of grants, advice, and other assistance, but it’s hard to know where to start."
He said the new-look Energy Saving Trust would act as a one-stop shop to extend the use of renewable energy at home and improve efficiency, and that the government wants 150,000 homes to be generating their own renewable energy by 2011.
Green Building Press
full article
Announcing the Green Homes Service environment secretary Hilary Benn said: "When it comes to cutting your carbon footprint, the old adage 'there's no place like home' really is true. We need to make this as easy as possible for people to do. There's a lot of help out there in the form of grants, advice, and other assistance, but it’s hard to know where to start."
He said the new-look Energy Saving Trust would act as a one-stop shop to extend the use of renewable energy at home and improve efficiency, and that the government wants 150,000 homes to be generating their own renewable energy by 2011.
Green Building Press
full article
Top eco-rating award for '20's terrace house
Solar panels, under-floor heating powered by a ground source heat pump, low energy lightbulbs and even a "green roof" have helped make a 1920s terrace house become one of the oldest houses in the UK to gain a top "eco-homes" rating.
While the Government has pledged to make all new build houses zero carbon by 2016, the Bournville Village Trust have refurbished one of their properties in Bournville, south Birmingham to demonstrate how the carbon footprint of current, inefficient, housing stock can be reduced.
Some of the features of the small three-bedroom terrace family home are to be expected: LED and low energy lighting and double glazing are now adopted as standard by the housing association in its refurbishment programme.
The heating and hot water supply are generated by a combination of solar panels and a ground source pump which draws heat from 65 metres underground.
Light wells into the kitchen - where the cupboards are made of recycled wood - bring in extra daylight and all the appliances in the kitchen have a A-grade efficiency rating. All the walls and roof are insulated.
Even the paint is water rather than oil-based and the downstairs rooms are tiled to allow the underfloor heating to work more effectively.
In the garden, bricks recycled from a wall taken down in the house, have formed the patio, while a pond, bird boxes and even the plants encourage wildlife. The fences are made from recycled plastic, which is manufactured to look very similar to wood.
There's green roof over the kitchen extension, planted with low-growing sedum which supports insect life and limits run-off, as well as water butts and composting and recycling bins.
Every part of the house has been designed with the environment in mind, so that even the driveway is porous to allow rainwater to drain away.
Some of the work is expensive and will not be applied to other refurbishment work by the trust. Some environmental features were rejected on the basis of cost - or because they would be ineffective, such as a wind turbine.
Jane Gething-Lewis
full article
While the Government has pledged to make all new build houses zero carbon by 2016, the Bournville Village Trust have refurbished one of their properties in Bournville, south Birmingham to demonstrate how the carbon footprint of current, inefficient, housing stock can be reduced.
Some of the features of the small three-bedroom terrace family home are to be expected: LED and low energy lighting and double glazing are now adopted as standard by the housing association in its refurbishment programme.
The heating and hot water supply are generated by a combination of solar panels and a ground source pump which draws heat from 65 metres underground.
Light wells into the kitchen - where the cupboards are made of recycled wood - bring in extra daylight and all the appliances in the kitchen have a A-grade efficiency rating. All the walls and roof are insulated.
Even the paint is water rather than oil-based and the downstairs rooms are tiled to allow the underfloor heating to work more effectively.
In the garden, bricks recycled from a wall taken down in the house, have formed the patio, while a pond, bird boxes and even the plants encourage wildlife. The fences are made from recycled plastic, which is manufactured to look very similar to wood.
There's green roof over the kitchen extension, planted with low-growing sedum which supports insect life and limits run-off, as well as water butts and composting and recycling bins.
Every part of the house has been designed with the environment in mind, so that even the driveway is porous to allow rainwater to drain away.
Some of the work is expensive and will not be applied to other refurbishment work by the trust. Some environmental features were rejected on the basis of cost - or because they would be ineffective, such as a wind turbine.
Jane Gething-Lewis
full article
Wednesday 21 November 2007
Emissions from UK homes could be cut by 80 per cent
Emissions from UK homes could be cut by 80 per cent by 2050, according to a new report by Dr Brenda Boardman at the University of Oxford’s Environmental Change Institute.
The report assesses the Government’s record and sets out, for the first time, a blueprint for delivering huge carbon cuts from UK homes while eradicating fuel poverty, creating jobs, cutting energy bills and increasing fuel security.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the housing sector have risen by more than five per cent since 1997 and account for 27 per cent of the UK’s carbon footprint. Although the number of households living in fuel poverty initially fell under Labour, the figure has since increased to four million – double the number in 2002.
The report, called Home Truths, found that current Government policies will only deliver half the cuts in household carbon emissions they should have achieved by 2020. The Government has no policies for cutting emissions from homes in the longer term.
Key recommendations
Introduce a package of financial incentives. This will make it cheaper for householders to cut their energy use and produce their own green energy. This package will include grants, low interest loans, stamp duty rebates and a reduction in VAT on energy efficiency measures to five per cent.
Reform of the energy market. A feed-in-tariff system is introduced which rewards households that fit low or zero carbon technology (LZC), such as solar panels, with a guaranteed premium price for any electricity they sell back to the grid. It is complemented by a renewable heat obligation, which requires a proportion of household heat to come from LZC sources, and a green gas tariff which encourages the use of waste gas as a fuel.
The aim is to fit every home in the UK with at least one LZC by 2050. UK households would be net exporters of electricity, generating up to ten percent more then they require.
Eradicate Fuel Poverty. Low-carbon Zones will be created, initially in areas where there is a concentration of fuel poor households. Local authorities would implement a street by street programme of improvements aimed at upgrading the walls, windows and roofs of homes in each zone by, for example, insulating solid walls. The report estimates that this approach would eliminate fuel poverty at a cost of £3.3 billion a year for the next nine years - treating 444,000 houses a year at an average cost of £7,500 per house.
Introduce and enforce minimum standards for homes. All homes in the UK will be issued with an Energy Performance Certificate grading them from G (very inefficient) to A (very efficient and almost carbon zero). Minimum standards for energy performance will then be introduced and tightened over successive years. Anyone who buys or rents out a house or flat that does not meet the minimum standard will not be allowed to sell or re-let it until it has been upgraded. By 2050 three million homes, which are so cold they are officially a health hazard, will have been upgraded, and the rate of heat loss in the average house will be halved.
full article
The report assesses the Government’s record and sets out, for the first time, a blueprint for delivering huge carbon cuts from UK homes while eradicating fuel poverty, creating jobs, cutting energy bills and increasing fuel security.
Carbon dioxide emissions from the housing sector have risen by more than five per cent since 1997 and account for 27 per cent of the UK’s carbon footprint. Although the number of households living in fuel poverty initially fell under Labour, the figure has since increased to four million – double the number in 2002.
The report, called Home Truths, found that current Government policies will only deliver half the cuts in household carbon emissions they should have achieved by 2020. The Government has no policies for cutting emissions from homes in the longer term.
Key recommendations
Introduce a package of financial incentives. This will make it cheaper for householders to cut their energy use and produce their own green energy. This package will include grants, low interest loans, stamp duty rebates and a reduction in VAT on energy efficiency measures to five per cent.
Reform of the energy market. A feed-in-tariff system is introduced which rewards households that fit low or zero carbon technology (LZC), such as solar panels, with a guaranteed premium price for any electricity they sell back to the grid. It is complemented by a renewable heat obligation, which requires a proportion of household heat to come from LZC sources, and a green gas tariff which encourages the use of waste gas as a fuel.
The aim is to fit every home in the UK with at least one LZC by 2050. UK households would be net exporters of electricity, generating up to ten percent more then they require.
Eradicate Fuel Poverty. Low-carbon Zones will be created, initially in areas where there is a concentration of fuel poor households. Local authorities would implement a street by street programme of improvements aimed at upgrading the walls, windows and roofs of homes in each zone by, for example, insulating solid walls. The report estimates that this approach would eliminate fuel poverty at a cost of £3.3 billion a year for the next nine years - treating 444,000 houses a year at an average cost of £7,500 per house.
Introduce and enforce minimum standards for homes. All homes in the UK will be issued with an Energy Performance Certificate grading them from G (very inefficient) to A (very efficient and almost carbon zero). Minimum standards for energy performance will then be introduced and tightened over successive years. Anyone who buys or rents out a house or flat that does not meet the minimum standard will not be allowed to sell or re-let it until it has been upgraded. By 2050 three million homes, which are so cold they are officially a health hazard, will have been upgraded, and the rate of heat loss in the average house will be halved.
full article
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