HIPS

Home Information Pack

What's in a Home Information Pack?

The Home Information Pack contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know. Home Information Packs including Energy Performance Certificates have been implemented on a phased basis which started on 1 August 2007.

From 10 September, a HIP is required for the sale of three or more bedroom properties. Smaller properties will be phased in as soon as sufficient energy assessors are fully qualified.

For sellers, providing a Pack upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home.

For buyers, the Pack provides essential information about properties they are considering buying, free of charge.

What does a Home Information Pack contain?

Compulsory items

The following compulsory documents must be included in a Home Information Pack.

1. Home Information Pack Index

The compulsory documents include a Home Information Pack Index, listing the documents contained in the Pack.

The Index provides a checklist for sellers, buyers, estate agents and enforcement authorities. Where a document that must be included in the Pack is unavailable, the Index must say so, give the reason it is missing, and indicate what steps are being taken to obtain it. Where documents are added to or removed from the Pack at a later stage, the Index should be revised accordingly.

2. Energy Performance Certificate

Energy Performance Certificates tell you how energy efficient a home is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes - which should have the lowest fuel bills - are in band A.

The Certificate also tells you, on a scale of A-G, about the impact the home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The average property in the UK is in bands D-E for both ratings. The Certificate includes recommendations on ways to improve the home's energy efficiency to save you money and help the environment.

Most sellers of newly built homes will have to provide a predicted assessment of the energy efficiency of the property, but a full Energy Performance Certificate should be provided to the buyer when the home is completed.

3. Sale Statement

The sale statement should provide some basic information about the property, including:

• The address of the property being sold
• Whether the property is freehold, leasehold or commonhold
• Whether the property is registered or unregistered
• Whether or not the property is being sold with vacant possession

4. Standard searches

The Home Information Pack must include:

• The local land charges register relating to the property being sold. Once a search is completed, which can be carried out by a personal search company or a local authority, you will receive an official search certificate.
• Other records held by the local authority on matters of interest to buyers, such as planning decisions and road building proposals. These are referred to as local enquiries in the Home Information Pack regulations. A local authority or a personal search company can be used.
• The provision of drainage and water services to the property. The local water company or a personal search company can be used (however, the search must comply with the HIP Regulations).

The procedural guidance to the Home Information Pack Regulations contains more information about what should be included in the search reports. For detailed advice dealing with local enquiries, drainage and water, and general provisions applying to all search reports and those who provide them (e.g. local authorities, water companies and personal search companies).

5. Evidence of Title

These documents prove that the seller owns the property and therefore has the right to sell it. Where the property being sold is registered, certain documents that are available on request from the Land Registry must be included in the Pack. These provide an up-to-date official record of who owns the land, and consist of:

• Official copies of the individual register (made up of a property register, proprietorship register and, typically, a charges register)
• An official copy of the title plan

In the case of the sale of a commonhold interest, official copies of the register and title plan should be produced for both the unit and common parts. The Land Registry has details of additional requirements for sales of commonhold properties.

For sales of unregistered land, the Pack must include copies of a certificate of an official search of the index map (obtained from the Land Registry), and those documents that the seller intends to rely on to provide evidence of title to the property, and thus the right to sell it.

Optional items

Some documents in the Home Information Pack are optional. These include:

1. Home Condition Report

A Home Condition Report contains information about the physical condition of a property, which sellers, buyers and lenders will be able to rely on legally as an accurate report.

The Report is an important part of the Pack, and can be included by sellers on a voluntary basis.

Sellers who provide a Report will have an early opportunity to carry out repair work on the property or obtain quotes prior to marketing.

Buyers can use it at the beginning of the home-buying process to minimise the possibility of being faced with unexpected repair bills and other surprises.

Lenders can benefit by using the Report to inform their valuations, reducing the need to repeat a detailed on-site inspection at the buyer's expense.

The Government believes there will be significant benefits to home sellers if they top up their Packs to include full Home Condition Reports, and that this is a product that the market can deliver. Communities and Local Government is working with stakeholders to facilitate the voluntary take-up of the full Report, and has invested resources in promoting and developing it for consumers.

Home Inspectors responsible for preparing Home Condition Reports will hold a qualification at NVQ Level 4 (equivalent to degree level), and will require in-depth knowledge and practical understanding of residential building construction and defects across a range of properties as set out in the approved National Occupational Standards for Home Inspectors.

2. Legal summary

Home Information Packs will contain some complex documents that can be difficult to understand. The optional summary of the legal content of the pack could therefore be very helpful to buyers, although it will not remove the need for buyers to take their own legal advice as well.

3. Home use / contents forms

Home use and home contents forms let sellers give buyers information on a range of matters relating to the property.

These include information on boundaries, notices, services, sharing with neighbours, planning permissions and other matters of interest to potential buyers.

It is usual for sellers to declare which fixtures and fittings and other contents of the property are included in the sale, are excluded from the sale, or are subject to negotiation.

4. Other documents

Sellers could speed up the sale if they include non-standard searches in the Home Information Pack where appropriate.

For example, it's standard practice to obtain a mining search in areas where coal mining has taken place. Sellers in these areas will save time if they provide this search in the Pack.

Other searches cover rights of way, ground stability and actual or potential environmental hazards such as flooding and contaminated land. Sellers will also want to include guarantees and warranties for work already carried out on their homes.