The article on the quality of house construction (Cracked tiles, wonky gutters, leaning walls – why are Britain’s new houses so rubbish?, 21 October) reminds me of the home information packs (Hips) promised in the Queen’s speech in 2003 and brought in by the Labour government in 2007. The pack was to bring together all the required legal documentation, an energy performance certificate (EPC) and a home condition report; hundreds of building professionals enlisted in courses that would lead to qualification as home inspectors.
One of the first actions of the then communities secretary, Eric Pickles, in the coalition government in 2010 was to suspend the requirement for Hips, saying they were “expensive and unnecessary” and were “stifling a fragile housing market”. Hips were finally abolished in 2012, leaving only the EPC as a statutory requirement. North of the border, however, an assessment of the condition of a property is still a condition of sale.
As Oliver Wainwright says: “Imagine buying a new car, then having to pay for a professional inspector to check that it has been properly manufactured, before you dared take it out on the road.” A home is the most important purchase you will have to make, to last at least your lifetime, many times the cost of a car that may be scrapped in 10 years.
David Jackson
Kelsall, Cheshire
The excellent and powerful article on the state of new housing in the UK is in its way a perfect microcosm of the utterly destructive and regressive effects of the Tory administration and its compact with the corrupt greed of parts of the corporate sector. The paradigm, so expertly constructed in the piece, can be applied all across social policy. First, embark on privatisation of what is essentially a public service, weaken regulation, then loosen or abandon financial controls.
This model has been repeated over the water industry, rail, health and probation, as well as the housing construction sector. The effect of this is to enfeeble public services and transfer the inevitable ensuing costs on to households and individuals and to divert the billions “saved” to the corporate sector while undertaxing its profits and executive salaries.
It is an utter and unprecedented scandal, and the only wonder is why it is only after 13 years that the scales seem to be falling from people’s eyes. The Tories are on a mission to eviscerate our social fabric.
Neil Blackshaw
Alnwick, Northumberland
