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Tories call to scrap home packs | Tories call to scrap home packs |
(40 minutes later) | |
The Conservatives are making a House of Commons effort to kill off plans to introduce home information packs. | |
The government argues that packs will cut the number of transactions which fall through and encourage people to make homes more energy efficient. | |
But the Tories say they will increase costs without achieving those goals. | But the Tories say they will increase costs without achieving those goals. |
From 1 June, homes put up for sale in England and Wales must have a HIP with title deeds and an energy performance certificate, costing sellers £400-600. | From 1 June, homes put up for sale in England and Wales must have a HIP with title deeds and an energy performance certificate, costing sellers £400-600. |
The Conservative motion, which will be debated on Wednesday from about 1245 BST, has been tabled by leader David Cameron and shadow communities secretary Caroline Spelman. | |
PACKS WILL INCLUDE Evidence of titleCopies of planning, listed building or building regulations consentsA local searchGuarantees for any work on the propertyAn energy performance certificate. Q&A: Home Information Packs | |
The party wants the energy performance certificates, which are included in HIPs, to be introduced separately. | |
Energy performance certificates would give would-be buyers information on the property's energy efficiency, as well as tips on how the energy efficiency of their home can be improved. | |
They would also ensure that the UK complies with an EU directive which comes into force in 2009. | |
Ms Spelman said: "Conservatives have continually asked the government to press ahead with the implementation of energy performance certificates free from the additional red tape of the rest of the HIP regulations. | |
"In Northern Ireland the certificates are being implemented by the government without the introduction of Home Information Packs. Ministers should simply implement this directive without gold-plating." | |
Judicial challenge | |
The Commons vote comes a day after Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said it would seek a judicial review because the government had not consulted properly on the law. | |
"It is unprecedented for a professional body to challenge the government in this way. It only emphasises how shambolic the government's handling of HIPs has been," said shadow housing minister Michael Gove. | |
"It is still not too late for the government to think again in the interests of stability in the housing market. I hope they will use the debate to acknowledge their mistakes," he added. | |
Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly has called RICS "anti-consumer and anti-green". | |
Ms Kelly called the legal challenge "groundless" and said the government would vigorously oppose it. |