Close We use cookies to improve your shopping experience. To give your consent, carry on shopping, or change your cookie preferences here.

Hips not worth the trouble

Posted by Sinks on 27th Jun 2017

With some DIYers priming their tools for green home improvements that will boost their energy efficiency ratings, many in the property industry have criticised Home Improvement Packs (Hips) and their effect on the housing market.Some have taken the scheme as a trigger to rethinking their sinks, floorboards and insulation, but the Residential Landlords Association (RLA) has claimed that the system is of little interest to purchasers - meaning that green revamps and better Hip ratings could fail to add new value.Hips were recently introduced for three and four bedroom houses in a bid to provide comprehensive information to prospective homebuyers and speed up the purchasing process, but the RLA said that they were time-consuming, costly and of little interest.Mark Butterworth, director of the RLA, said that Hips amounted to an expensive piece of legislation which did not always interest homebuyers suggesting that green issues were not as high a priority as imagined.There are concerns about the extension to two bed and rented property, and a general sentiment that any more paperwork is likely to lead to disinvestment in the rented sector, he said.Some homeowners have joined the RLA in criticising the scheme, with recent research showing that Brits were keen to carry out DIY work, but were put off by the costs especially those for the ambitious changes needed to improve a Hips rating.ADNFCR-1321-ID-18353873-ADNFCR