Home Information packs

HIPS EXPLAINED

Home Information Packs (HIPs) will be a legal requirement for virtually all residential flats and houses put onto the market from 1st June this year.

Dom Toller, Director of Marketing and New Business at LMS - the leading HIP provider working with your estate agency - guides you through what you need to know.

What are HIPs?
Home Information Packs are a simple way of making buying and selling a home easier, faster and less stressful.

Information about a property is gathered in advance and compiled into a pack so that the seller, estate agent and potential buyers can all be reassured there are no problems in key areas and can make informed decisions.

The pack is produced in printed or electronic (i.e. viewable on a computer) formats so it can be easily read and sent by post or e-mail.

From 1st June it will be a legal requirement that you must have a HIP before you or your estate agent can start marketing your home.

What is in a HIP?
It is mandatory (a legal requirement) that a HIP contains the following:

• An index (a list of the contents of the pack)
• A sale statement (summarising the terms of the sale)
• An Energy Performance Certificate (this rates the energy efficiency of the property)
• Evidence of title (proof you own the property)
• Standard searches (local authority enquiries and a drainage and water search)
• Where needed, commonhold information, including a copy of the commonhold community statement (for example where owners of flats own a share of the freehold and are collectively responsible for the upkeep of communal areas)
• Where needed, leasehold information, including a copy of the lease and information on service charges and insurance
• Where needed, a New Homes Warranty
• Where needed, a report on the home if is not physically complete yet.

As the legislation stands currently, you will able to market your home once a pack is produced
containing an Energy Performance Certificate, sale statement, evidence of title and index,
and there is at least evidence that the other documents have been commissioned if they are
not in the HIP.

For example a letter from a HIP provider confirming that an agreement has been entered into
to provide the missing documents as soon as practicable and within 28 days except in
exceptional circumstances. If this takes longer than 28 days HIP providers will be expected to
demonstrate that they have made all reasonable efforts and enquiries to obtain them.

In addition it is also authorised (allowed) to include:

• A Home Condition Report (similar to a basic survey)
• Guarantees and warranties (e.g. for damp or dry rot treatment)
• Home Contents Form (a list of what is included with the property)
• Home Use Form (similar to the current seller's property information form)
• Other searches
• Copies of planning consents, building regulations etc.

It should be noted that no other documents can be included in a HIP other than those either
required or authorised as listed above.

Particulars, photos, sales information etc must be supplied outside the pack.

Who has to have a HIP?
The legal responsibility for having a HIP lies with the person marketing a residential property.

Normally this will be the estate agent, however in reality there will be a shared responsibility between the seller and the estate agent to ensure a HIP is in place for potential buyers to see when they want to view the property.

If you do not use an estate agent then it will be your responsibility to organise a HIP before you try marketing your home – whether that is online or even on a postcard in the window of a local shop!

How do I go about getting a HIP?
Nothing could be easier.

Your estate agency can advise you about the best way to proceed and will be able to order your HIP instantly online on your behalf as part of the agreement to start marketing your property.

If your agency is using the proven LMS system you can be confident that your HIP will be put together quickly and accurately using the very latest technologies and processes.

How much does a HIP cost?
The cost of the HIP will depend on the size and type of the property (for example if it is freehold or leasehold).

Again, if your estate agent is working with LMS you can be certain the price of your HIP will be very competitive, and you will also have the option to pay for it either when it is produced, or after your property has been sold to help defray the cost.

Whilst this is a change from the current way of doing things, it is worth remembering that the property you wish to buy after 1st June will also have had a HIP prepared on it and so this will reduce the costs of buying accordingly. All that is happening is that some of the costs of the transaction are moving from the buying side to the selling side to help speed up the process and help buyers make an informed choice.

So is a HIP worth having?
Most definitely yes!

Apart from the fact that it will be a legal necessity, the experience of LMS, as Britain’s leading provider of conveyancing and HIP services, shows that HIPs cut the time between notification of sale and exchange of contracts by an average of a whole working week.

This, and having key information upfront, takes a great deal of the worry and uncertainty out of home buying, and increases the chances of the transaction going through as there is less likelihood of nasty surprises being discovered after an offer has been made.

And that’s got to be better for you - whether you are selling, or buying, a home.