The cost of home information packs will be massively more than the government’s estimate, according to research by Open Europe, an independent, London-based think tank. Sunday Telegraph


The packs will cost homeowners at least £337m a year more than any savings they bring, the research calculates. The difference is four times what the government estimated, and represents a cost to the country of £4.7bn by 2020.

The estimated that the energy performance certificates would cost £97 each at a total cost of £210m a year, including administration. But Open Europe says that the true cost of the certificate will be closer to £150, with many experts predicting that the shortage of energy assessors could push it even higher.

There are also suggestions that fewer than one in five people will act on the energy performance advice.