With HIPs going from bad to worse, Henry Pryor, at leading property website PrimeMove.com said.

“The big change in plans, which some have not noticed, is Ms Kelly’s admission that homeowners will be allowed to put their homes on sale without actually having a completed HIP to hand”.

Previously they were threatened with a £200 fine if the HIP wasn’t ready and waiting when the home went on sale.

From August 1, merely having applied for a HIP will satisfy the regulations.

Mr Pryor added, “There is no central record in place to show whether sellers have or have not applied for their HIP.

“I suspect you will find that agents gently forget about applying until a definite purchaser is found, at which point the HIP will be swiftly produced. Agents only sell about one in three of the properties they take on, so there is no practical purpose in producing a HIP for those two homes which aren’t sold.”

Local Trading Standards Officers employed by town halls will make the odd swoop on agents to see if a HIP has been compiled on a particular home, Mr Pryor says.

He maintains that if events turn out in the way he expects, demand for HIPs will be greatly reduced, and Domestic Energy Assessors who might have spent £5,000 or more on getting qualified might find the scheme is nothing like the money spinner they anticipated.

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