Frequently Asked Questions Sub Page

Under the provisions of the Housing Act 2004 a Home Information Pack (HIP), sometimes called a Seller's Pack, will have to be provided before a property in England and Wales can be put on the open market for sale with vacant possession.
The pack will be a set of documents about the property:

• an Energy Performance Certificate
• local authority searches
• local water searches
• title documents
• guarantees, etc.

The introduction of HIPs became mandatory for homes with four or more bedrooms on 1st August 2007 and were extended to three bedroomed properties from 10th September 2007 and finaly all properties from 14th December 2008

Home Information Packs will lead to a reduction in the number of abortive sales by reducing gazumping and gazundering.

History

As the idea of the Home Information Pack developed over time, so have the reasons for its introduction.
A proposal to address the problem of gazumping was first made in the 1997 Labour Party manifesto.
Research after the election revealed that around 28% of sales fell before exchange of contracts, with gazumping occurring in fewer than 2% of sales.

The emphasis subsequently moved to the benefits of increased speed, transparency and consumer friendliness.
The idea is based on similar practice used in Denmark and USA

Home Information Packs were announced in the Queen's Speech in November 2003.

In March 2006 the government gave the go ahead for multiple certification schemes.
By this stage a number of organisations had expressed an interest in running certification schemes and over 3,000 people were already going through training for the home inspector qualification.

In June 2006 draft regulations were made setting out the detailed contents of Home Information Packs, rules governing the availability of packs, exceptions from the pack duties and arrangements for enforcement.

In September 2006 the government approved the first Certification Schemes to oversee the work of Home Inspectors.

The schemes are set up and run by industry.

Government sets the standards that the schemes operate.

Originally the HIP was going to be required from June 1, 2007.
However, just ten days before that date, Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly announced that they would be phased in from August 2007, and initially only for larger properties.
Between 1st August and the 10th of September only homes marketed with four or more bedrooms were legally required to have an HIP.
This was extended to cover homes with three or more bedrooms from September 10th.

On November 22nd, Housing Minister Yvette Cooper announced that HIPs would be rolled out to include one and two bedroom properties as of December 14th, completing the Government's phased introuduction of the scheme.Full HIP rollout explained

Please look at the extensive information within our web-site including Q7:"What was wrong with the system in place prior to 1st August 2007? section of this web site.