One year after the arrival of Hips and the public aren’t impressed.

A new YouGov poll has found that only 5 per cent of people think the new, compulsory sales packs have delivered benefits. Another 68 per cent said they had failed to make a positive difference.

Plus they increase the cost of moving home - although, to be fair, sellers have other things to worry about right now, ie the crash.

But the most interesting point here is that the government always claimed Hips were necessary to meet the EU directive demanding that home sellers must produce energy performance certificates (EPCs) - which form part of the new packs.

In northern Ireland, as of the start of this month, EPCs have been introduced; without Hips.

As Grant Shapps, shadow housing minister says: “The example of Northern Ireland shows that Hips simply aren’t needed.”

August 1, 2008 11:38am in Conservatives, Gordon Brown, Housing, UK economy | Comment