Home Information Pack (HIP)
Instruct us on your sale and order a HIP
Instruct us on your sale and purchase and order a HIP
Note - From 14 December 2007, HIPs will be required for properties of any size (subject to exceptions set out below).
Guidance
What is a HIP?
A Home Information Pack, or HIP, is a collection of information about a property being marketed for sale. This may simply be the mandatory documents (see below under, 'What needs to be in a HIP?') or it may, at the seller's option, also include other voluntary documents, such as a Home Condition Report. This is essentially a preliminary survey which sets out, as the name suggests, details about the condition of the property.
What needs to be in a HIP?
HIPs need to include certain mandatory documents. Our basic HIP includes all of these mandatory documents, which are:
Index of the HIP documents
Energy Performance Certificate (see below)
Sales statement of property details
Land Registry evidence of title
Local authority searches
For leaseholds - key lease information
What is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?
This is a certificate produced by an inspector who is approved to carry out inspections and prepare certificates under a certified scheme set up by the Government. The purpose of the certificate is to allow sellers and buyers to understand the energy efficiency of a property based on ratings A to G, similar to the system used to rate electrical appliances.
Properties that do not need a HIP
From 14 December all properties (other than the exceptions below) will generally need a HIP before they are marketed for sale. Transitional arrangements to allow properties to be marketed if a HIP has been commissioned are to be extended to June 2008. The properties that do not need a HIP are:
where there is no marketing of the property (e.g. sold to a relative without putting it on the market)
non-residential properties
properties with over 5 hectares used for horticulture/cultivation (e.g. farms)
seasonal and holiday accommodation
mixed sales (e.g. shop with flat)
right to buy purchases
sales of portfolios of properties (with at least two properties in the portfolio and subject to other requirements)
properties not being sold with vacant possession (e.g. with a tenant)
unsafe properties and properties to be demolished
When can your property be marketed?
Until June 2008 the property can be marketed as soon as the HIP has been ordered (contracts can't be exchanged until the HIP has been completed). This will change after June 2008 when the transitional arrangements come to an end.
Other Guidance
If you require any other guidance on whether your property needs a HIP before it can be marketed for sale we would be happy to assist.
Please send us details or call us on 01823-330944. If we are instructed on the sale of your property there will be no additional charge for this guidance.
Order a HIP and instruct us on your sale
Order a HIP and instruct us on your sale and purchase
