Posts Tagged ‘Energy performance’

With a new government finally in power, we’re wondering what new changes they’ll bring to the property world. Details are beginning to emerge about the Coalition Agreement between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats and the first bit of property-related news is that they’ll be keeping Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs), but scrapping Home Information Packs (HIPs).

The measures out outlined in the Environmental section of the coalition report, where the two parties have agreed to measures that will help promote a ‘low carbon and eco-friendly economy.’ Home Information Pack’s have long been subject to controversy, with mixed views regarding their effectiveness, so it’s not a surprise that they will be going.

Energy Performance Certificates have become a good way of rating how efficient a property is and, with eco-friendly and green issues of key concern, it’s encouraging to see that these will be kept.

Time will tell what other measures the new government have planned that could affect the property industry. In the meantime, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveys (RICS) are predicting that house prices will continue to rise during the post-election time, despite the fact that there are already a number of properties on the market.

Their latest property survey reveals that property prices and sales both rose during April 2010. The number of new homes being put on the market went up in April and surveyors are said to be optimistic about the property market in the coming months.