IN THE days before Easter, the Government has been striving to keep homeowners sweet. The first treat — ministers would probably like you to think of it as the equivalent of an organic chocolate Easter egg — came in the shape of a relaxation of planning rules.

Ruth Kelly, the Communities Secretary, will allow households to install microgeneration devices such as solar panels without planning permission. As well as being able to be greener with less red tape, we can also have the comfort of knowing that the arrival of home information packs (Hips) in June will have only a transitory effect on the market. So much for fears that the scheme could cause a sudden rush to sell and a dire shortage thereafter. This assurance — yet another Easter bonbon — came from Ms Kelly’s department.

It also claims that the energy performance certificate (EPC), an obligatory part of the Hip, should make us more eco-conscious, as its grading of a home’s energy efficiency will suggest ways to limit the burning of fossil fuels. Lower gas and electricity bills will be another plus.

These announcements were doubtless timed to coincide with the year’s most DIY and domestic-focused Bank Holiday. But maybe the Government was also keen to divert attention from the publicity over tax changes to pensions that have diminished the value of our retirement savings and ensured that we turn our minds to our investment in real estate.

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Hips will make us greener, or so the Government says

• Hips have already won hearts and minds and will make us all greener, or so the Government says

BACKGROUND

• Home Information Packs come under fire

• Q&A: home information packs

• Will HIPs pack a real punch?

• Home Information Packs branded as 'ridiculous'

BACKGROUND

• Average prices in the South are 1.59 times higher than the North

• The City’s ardour for status homes remains unabated

• The dawn of a more eco-conscious Britain may be delayed

• It's bonus time, let the stampede begin

• Prices and politics either side of the border

BACKGROUND

• Mortgage competition makes millions immune to base-rate moves

• Hidden costs of a place in the sun

• Primark Principle revises gloomy views

• Going green is not cheap

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• Hips will make us greener, or so the Government says

Whatever the motive behind the Hip announcement, it is clear that, while the communites department believes it is “winning the battle of hearts and minds”, there is still widespread ignorance of the scheme. Which may be why there are no signs of a flood of properties for sale. Paul Creffield of Countrywide, the country’s largest estate agency group, says: “There is not a high degree of public awareness: the Government needs to sustain its publicity campaign.”

Among the few who are aware of Hips, however, there is a keen interest in the EPC, which is set to become a cool badge of environmental awareness. Owners with no intention of selling

will employ an energy inspector to complete an EPC for their home as proof of its eco-conscious credentials. For those who wish to relax this weekend, rather than queue at the DIY store, the good news is that all improvements that make a home greener (cavity-wall insulation, fitting thermostatic radiator valves) are best left to the professionals.

The new Belfast

Prices in one location are up 14.6 per cent since January and 61 per cent over 12 months. No, it’s not London, but Belfast, that other boom town where the market is benefiting from inward migration, infrastructure investment and the opening of new bars and restaurants in which to celebrate the new prosperity. The ending of sectarian strife is a key factor in this regeneration; the ability to use the word “boom” in relation to property values symbolises the change in atmosphere.

Last July Bricks and Mortar’s Where Next? series introduced you to the idea of Belfast as hotspot. But even then there were already concerns about affordability and a lack of homes for sale; young professionals unable to absent themselves from the office were hiring the less career-oriented to stand in the queues for apartments in the few available new developments.

These worries have grown: in its latest regional survey Nationwide suggests Belfast “is more vulnerable than some other parts of the UK”. It is the only place outside London where

— in the wake of interest rate rises — Nationwide cannot yet see signs of the new mood of caution evident in the North, the Midlands, Scotland and Wales.

In the capital, the only indication of the impact of higher rates is the surge in rents in some neighbourhoods, a trend observed by Cluttons, Hamptons, Savills and other agents. Cluttons says landlords hit by more expensive borrowing are putting up rents; this opportunism is mostly being rewarded.

Reports of Mayfair houses to let for £25,000 a week, or homes for sale for £800,000 in Belfast’s Alliance Avenue at the heart of the city’s former “murder triangle”, make intriguing reading. But homeowners elsewhere will hope that those stories are not seen as a reason why interest rates should continue to be increased.

The Rigsby Effect

The tenancy deposit scheme becomes effective today. It obliges all landlords who take deposits from tenants to join one of three deposit protection schemes. There are large fines for those who fail to comply; they also lose their right to evict. But there will still be many who fall foul of the new rules, simply because they have failed to realise that letting a flat, even to a friend, makes them a landlord. Failure to see themselves in this legal role may have something to do with the image of landlords as grasping, inquisitive and always complaining. Their reaction when faced with a fine will not be too pretty either.

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