HIPs explained

History

For a long time consumers have been unhappy with the home selling process in this country. A substantial minority of sales fell through when buyers had already paid out for surveys, solicitors etc. This was sometimes because certain legal issues did not come to light until further along the chain and caused sales to be seriously delayed or even fall through completely. 

In order to ensure that as much information as possible is available up front and to prevent nasty surprises further down the line, the government introduced Home Information Packs for 4 bedroom houses in August 2007. This was extended to 3 bed houses in October 2007 and finally the program was rolled out to include smaller properties on December 14th 2007.

This means that in order to market a property on the open market, the person responsible for marketing the property (usually the Estate Agent ) must make a Home Information Pack available to prospective buyers. The Estate Agent can arrange for a Pack to be compiled or the seller can do it themselves. At the moment it is enough to have ordered and paid, or promised to pay, for one in order to market the property but this may change. The pack itself does not have to be complete at the first point of marketing

NB From April 1st 2009, certain documents must be available before marketing of the property can begin. These form what is usually called either a mini HIP or a Lite HIP - the essential documents are: 

  • Index
  • Sale Statement
  • Energy Performance Certificate
  • Property Information Questionnaire
  • Title Plan
  • Title Register

What`s in a pack?

 There are two types of document Mandatory and Authorised

Mandatory ( these must be in the pack )

  • A Home Information Pack Index ( basically a list of what`s in the HIP )
  • Energy Performance Certificate or EPC ( shows the properties current and potential energy efficiency/ running costs)
  • Sale statement ( this gives the basic details of the property such as name, address of owners, whether freehold or commonhold)
  • Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) this must be completed by the vendor
  • Standard searches ( from information held by the relevant local authority)
  • Water searches ( from the relevant water agency - giving information about  drainage etc )
  • Evidence of Title and TItle plan
  • A copy of the lease ( if appropriate)
  • Commonhold information ( If appropriate )

Authorised ( these may be in the pack ) examples are

  • A Home Condition Report
  • Home use/contents forms
  • Warranties/ certificates for windows/ building works/electrical work
  • Additional information for
  • Leasehold and commonhold sales e.g service charges
  • To see a sample HIP click here