“The demise of HIPs will have implications for the industry that has sprung up to deliver the service and this group of providers could well be considering mounting a legal challenge against their abolition. The alternative to HIPs would have been to move towards a version of the more successful Scottish Home Report, but with competing priorities, it would seem the Government doesn’t feel this to be a huge priority. “

And, with the spotlight now on EPCs, Richard comments: 

“The coalition government has announced new regulations for the management of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) but not much at this stage appears to be new and this appears to be a ‘sop’ for abolishing HIPs. 

“The real question for the new Government is how will they enforce the regulations. EPCs have been mandatory since October 2008 and subject to fines for non-compliance. While EPCs have been highly visible in Estate Agents windows, many private landlords currently ignore this requirement when letting property. It will need increased non-compliance penalties for the regulations to have real bite.“

 “EPCs could become very powerful in the future because they could be a way of driving differential tax breaks to support the green agenda and therefore become an important part of consumer decision-making.”