On 25 January 2007, the Government announced some important transitional provisions to allow HIPs to “bed in” following their introduction on 1 June 2007.

I thought it might be helpful to summarise these provisions which, essentially, will assist relocating employers get their employee's properties on to the market quickly.

- The Government underlined the importance of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and confirmed that EPC must be available before a property is placed on the market. However, the rest of the HIP has been watered down and for a transitional period, possibly 6 months, a property can be marketed with an incomplete HIP along as the following documents are obtained: -

Index.
Sale Statement.
EPC.
Evidence of Title.
Evidence (possibly a letter from a solicitor) that other key legal documents (searches, etc) have been commissioned.

Every effort must be made to obtain any missing documents within 28 days.

- A new HIP will not be required if a property is taken off the market, as long as it is being re-marketed by the same seller within one year of the original marketing date.

- The transitional period for properties already on the market as at 1 June 2007 has been extended to 31 March 2008 (instead of 1 November 2007).

- The time lines for the introduction for HIPs is as follows: -

19 February 2007: - the consultation period ends.
27 March 2007: - energy performance regulations will be laid.
29 March 2007: - final regulations will be laid.
19 April 2007: - HIPs regulations come into force.
1 June 2007: - HIPs go live.

For those employers operating a guaranteed sale price scheme, it is vital to commission an Energy Performance Certificate as soon as a new case is incepted. This can be done in tandem with the valuation process. Given that the other documents in HIP are now exclusively legal in nature, minimal coordination is necessary to link up the result of the EPC with the other key legal documents (KLDs).

I think that, overall, the latest Government announcement is good news for the relocation industry as it means that first day marketing can be achieved in the vast majority of cases.

However, it is clear that there may be a shortage of energy assessors qualified to carry out the Energy Performance Certificate, and it is important that employers secure access to EPCs in advance of the launch date on 1 June 2007.

Richard Atkins is a partner with Taylor Walton Solicitors specialising in relocation. He can be contacted on 01582 731161.

© 2007. Re:locate Magazine is published by Profile Locations, Spray Hill, Hastings Road, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8JB. All rights reserved. This publication (or any part thereof) may not be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of Profile Locations. Profile Locations accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein.