The government has announced a raft of proposals relating to home information packs (Hips) including relaxing some of the timescales for getting the relevant documents in place.

However, estate agents will see heavier fines imposed if they use the relaxation to market homes incorrectly.

In addition, the Department for Communities and Local Government intends to promote the energy certificate to the front of the pack to emphasise the importance the government attaches to making green choices by comparing energy costs between homes.

Ministers are also in discussion with the financial services industry about providing green mortgages which fund the improvements suggested in EPCs, as well as exploring options for linking EPCs to incentives to encourage energy efficiency such as the council tax rebates some local authorities are offering in conjunction with energy suppliers.

The changes, which have been welcomed by the National Association of Estate Agents, will reduce the need for all the documents to be in place at the time marketing of the property starts.  This has been a major argument against Hips from many sides of the industry. The DCLG has made it clear that this is not a relaxation of the requirement itself and insists that commissioning of the documents must have taken place before marketing begins. It is backing this with heavier fines (up from £200 to £600) for estate agents that buck the rules.

One of the government’s key objectives with Hips was to speed up the house selling process and the trials have shown that local searches have not been able to keep up with the requirement, hence the temporary relaxation while the government works out how to get the authorities to co-operate.

These transitional arrangements will be reviewed after six months to see whether they are still needed

Coincidentally, a Mori report just released shows that that buyers and sellers currently face transaction times which average more than 6 months from marketing to completion, making them among the slowest in Europe.

The new proposals also allow properties which are marketed before 1st June, and which remain on the market, will not need a Hip before 31st March 2008.  In addition, properties that are withdrawn from the market can still use the original Hip if remarketed by the same seller within a year of the original Hip date – more changes that will please the industry and house sellers alike.

Charles Smailes, president at the NAEA, stated: "Clearly I am delighted that, at long last, the government accepts some of the concerns we have continually flagged up. However, whilst the rules in respect of first day marketing have been relaxed, the fact remains that you will not be allowed to immediately market your home.”

“We are also pleased that there is now a further opportunity for consultation as a result of the document issued today and we will, of course, be making further representation."

Trevor Kent, a fervent anti-Hip campaigner said the DCLG had climbed down on the provision of information on leasehold properties that Hips required to be included at an early stage, having discovered, belatedly, that landlords and block managers are holding sellers to ransom by charging a fortune for management accounts and other records.

"The government has had a shock whilst reviewing the interim results of their 'dry-run' tests of packs in six towns and cities, having discovered that agents' fears over implementation problems are well founded,” Mr Kent said.

The government also announced two further area trials for Hips, in addition to the six already underway. The trials will be extended to London (Southwark) from 12 February 2007 and North West Wales (Gwynedd, Conwy & Isle of Anglesey) from 19 February 2007 to gain the broadest possible experience of different types of housing market in advance of 1 June 2007.