What is a Home Information Pack (HIP)?
A Home Information Pack is a set of documents, provided by a seller, which will
give a potential buyer key information about the property for sale.
In the past, once a sale had been agreed, solicitors were
instructed and they gathered the information needed to agree the contract and
complete a sale.
Today, Home Information Packs provide key information at the very start
of the home buying process, making transactions more efficient and less likely
to fall through between offer and exchange.
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What does a HIP contain?
A HIP must contain the following official documents:
An Index of contents
A Property Information Questionnaire (to be completed by the owner of the property)
An Energy Performance Certificate
A sale statement (summarising terms of sale)
Evidence of title
A local authority search
A drainage and water enquiry
A copy of the lease (for leasehold properties)
A copy of the commonhold community statement (for commonhold properties)
Some documents in the Home Information Pack are optional and incur an
additional cost, these include:
Home Condition Report (an Energy Performance Certificate is included in the Home Condition Report)
Home use/contents forms
Additional searches where appropriate - for example, coal mining or 'rights of way'
Guarantees and warranties for work already carried out on the property
A legal summary of the pack contents
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Do I need a Home Information Pack?
Home Information Packs are now required by law for most residential properties
placed on the market, however, there are some exceptions. Please find a
list of exceptions below.
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Are there any exceptions?
You don't need a Home Information Pack for:
Properties where there is no marketing (e.g. sale to member of your family)
Non-residential properties
Seasonal and holiday accommodation
Mixed sales (e.g. shop with flat)
Right to buy and similar sales
Sales of portfolios of properties
Properties not being sold with completely vacant possession
Sales of properties with leases of less than 21 years
Unsafe properties and properties to be demolished.
Properties already on the market when the duty to have a Pack arises (1st
August 2007 for sales of homes with 4 bedrooms or more, 10th September 2007 for
sales of homes with 3 bedrooms or more and 14th December 2007 for sales of homes
with 1 or 2 bedrooms)
For more information on exceptions, see:
Exceptions
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What happens if I change estate agents?
Some estate agents will offer to provide Home Information Packs on the condition
that you use them as your sole agent. If you wish to find a new agent, you may
need to buy a new HIP.
However, when you purchase a Home Information Pack from Property HIP Services, it will
belong to you and if you decide to change estate agents, all you need to do is
provide the new agent with a copy of your HIP.
You can remarket your property with the same pack provided that remarketing
starts within one year of the date when marketing first began.
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What is 'tenure'?
Property Tenure in simple terms refers to how the property is owned.
Freehold is the simplest form of property
tenure and is most commonly found in houses. Freehold means that you are the
out-right and complete owner of the building and the land on which it stands.
There could however be conditions on the freehold, despite the fact that you are
the out-right owner, if in the deeds there have been restrictions set in place
upon the initial build of the house, then any such restriction must be upheld.
Leasehold is a little more complicated than freehold.
In effect it could be said that if you buy a leasehold you will never really own
the property or the land which it stands, you will only own the right of its use
for the specified time of the lease, at the end of which the property is handed
back to the free-holder, who holds the right to lease-hold the property.
There are both ‘long’ and ‘short’ leases within leasehold, the short lease can
be described as nothing more than a long tenancy agreement and a long leasehold
is virtually ownership of the property as, for example at the end of a 999 year
lease the probability that the building will be standing is extremely slim. The
length of the lease is certainly very relevant as the cost of the property will
vary depending on how long or short the lease is.
Commonhold is a new form of tenure
introduced in 2004, it is in actual fact a form of freehold for a property where
there are multiple units i.e. flats of separate ownership which also have common
areas such as stairways, halls and driveways.
The units (flats) are individually owned but the common parts are owned by a
commonhold association (a limited company) whose members must also be unit
owners.
Commonhold differs from leasehold in two important respects:
• Ownership of the units does not have a fixed term (as a lease would) — it is
in perpetuity
• Anyone who is not an owner of a unit cannot have an interest in the land or
common parts — thus there is no landlord
A commonhold HIP will include title documents for both the individual unit for
sale and for the shared areas.
In addition, the other required document is the 'commonhold community
statement'.
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If I have a share in the freehold, can I order a
freehold HIP?
No. In terms of the HIP it doesn't make a difference whether you own a share of
the freehold, the whole of the freehold, or if a management company owns the
freehold. If the property is leasehold then a leasehold HIP will need to be
purchased. There is a lot of important information contained with the leasehold
register, and that needs to be included in your HIP.
If the seller of a leasehold property is also selling their share of the
freehold, then the freehold title documents will be required for inclusion in
the leasehold HIP.
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How do I find out if my property is registered?
The majority of properties are registered with the Land Registry.
You can check that your property is registered by searching their online
database - operating hours for this service are between 7 am and 12 midnight,
Monday to Saturday (excluding bank holidays)
search the Land Registry
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Why is there an additional charge for unregistered
properties?
A small percentage of properties are not registered with the Land Registry. This
normally occurs with properties that have not changed ownership for quite some
time.
If your property is not registered then an 'Epitome of title' has to be
included in the HIP. This is a collection of legal documents proving ownership,
for example title deeds and contracts from your purchase. If that information is
not held by you, it will be necessary to request it from the landlord, managing
agent or your lender. They may make a charge to release this information.
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Can my property be marketed before the HIP is complete?
Since April 6th 2009, HIP legislation no longer allows for the marketing of
properties without the following required documents in place:
An Index of contents
A Property Information Questionnaire (to be completed by the owner of the property)
An Energy Performance Certificate
A sale statement (summarising terms of sale)
Evidence of title
For this reason we now provide a partial or Mini HIP containing the above documents on request.
Home owners keen to place their property on the market find this option helpful as a Mini HIP can be produced within 3 working days.
(Please note that we ask for prompt access to the property to undertake the energy assessment and that the Property Information Questionnaire
be completed and returned as soon as possible) read more about the Property Information Questionnaire...
The full HIP is still produced in approximately 10 working days and will be forwarded to both you and your agent on completion.
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Who gets to view the information in my HIP?
You, or your estate agent will allow access to potential buyers who have a
genuine interest in purchasing your property. The information in the pack will
help them to make a more informed decision and ease the process of selling your
home.
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Why should I order my HIP from Property HIP Services?
We’re HIP Code registered.
That means we abide by strict HIP Code guidelines and offer additional consumer redress.
Our energy assessors call at a time that suits you.
We can have your property ‘market ready’ within 3 working days!
read
about Mini HIPs...
We keep our overheads low and pass the savings on to you.
We take all major credit/debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.
We can liaise with your estate agent; you don’t have to do a thing.
Simply let us know which agent you are using when we contact you and we'll send
a copy of the HIP (and Mini HIP if you want one), to your agent as soon as it's
ready.
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What's the order process?
Simply enter your
contact and property details into the HIP order form
Make a payment
payment options
Confirmation of your order will be sent to the email address you provide.
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What is a Mini HIP?
A Mini HIP is a temporary pack that contains the basic documents required to
legally market your property.
There’s no extra charge for a Mini HIP and we can usually provide one within 3
working days.
Mini HIP contents:
An Index of contents
A Property Information Questionnaire (to be completed by the owner of the property)
An Energy Performance Certificate
A sale statement (summarising terms of sale)
Evidence of title
Want to get off to a flying start? Your estate agent will be able to begin marketing your property as soon as they receive a Mini HIP.
Once the full Home Information Pack has been completed, we'll send it to you and to your agent – at this
point, the Mini HIP is no longer needed and can be discarded. Both the Mini HIP and the
completed HIP are delivered in
PDF format and will be sent by email as an attachment.
(Please note that we ask for prompt access to the property to undertake the energy assessment and that the Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ)
be completed and returned as soon as possible)
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Why do I need to fill in a Property Information Questionnaire
(PIQ)?
The Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) has been a mandatory document in HIPs since 6th April 2009. It has been
designed to be easy for sellers to complete and provides buyers with basic, useful information
that will help to inform their decision to view the property or make an offer.
Topics include which services are connected to the property (gas, electricity,
telephone etc.), council tax band, any history of flooding, building work carried
out and parking arrangements.
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I already have an EPC, can you include it in the HIP?
Yes, providing the EPC is valid - that means it must be no more than 3 years old when the property is first marketed.
Prices for HIPs made with existing EPCs start from just
£150 + VAT. Just select 'use my existing EPC' from the options on the
order form
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Why do you carry out an energy assessment?
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are part of a series of measures that have
been introduced
across Europe to reflect legislation which will help cut buildings’ carbon
emissions and improve energy efficiency.
If you are selling your home you now need a certificate by law and, since
October 2008 all buildings, whenever they are built, sold or rented out, will
require one.
In order to provide the Energy Performance Certificate (included in your Home Information Pack),
one of our team will need to pop round to look at the features of the property that affect it's energy efficiency.
Homes are energy rated into one of seven bands from A to
G, where A is the most energy efficient and G
the least. This is a similar system to the energy rating of
domestic electrical goods and new motor vehicles. The EPCs energy rating is
linked to the cost of heating, lighting and hot water per square metre of the
property and the current average rating for a property in England and Wales falls within
bands D and E. New build homes built to current building
standards are likely to achieve a high
C or low B rating.
View a sample Energy Performance Certificate in a new window ...
sample
EPC
The certificate also includes:
• A summary of energy use, CO2 emissions and the cost of providing
lighting, heating and hot water within the property for 1 year.
• Recommendations to improve the energy efficiency of the property, from
relatively small changes such as fitting low energy light bulbs, to measures
that will boost the energy rating more significantly, such as cavity wall
insulation or a new boiler.
Grants are available to help finance energy efficiency improvements -
please visit the
Energy Savings Trust
website to find out more.
Appointments to suit your schedule
We offer flexible appointments including evenings and weekends, and will do our
best to arrange a time that suits you. Please be aware that evening appointments
will be dependant on available daylight as your assessor may need to identify
features to the exterior of the property. For example, evidence of retro-fit
cavity wall insulation.
PHS energy assessors are fully qualified and accredited professionals, committed
to maintaining the highest level of service and customer care.
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What should I expect on the day of the assessment?
When your assessor calls, they will be happy to produce identification.
The assessment should take between 30 and 60 minutes. This is dependent on the
size of the property and the features to be recorded.
The energy inspection itself is non intrusive, however the assessor will
need access to:
The heating system to establish it's make, model and fuel type
The hot water cylinder if you have one
Heating system programmers and thermostats
Gas and electricity meters
The roof space if possible
If you have any documentation relating to the following, please have
this ready to show your assessor:
The addition of cavity wall insulation, loft insulation or under floor
insulation after the original build
Double glazing - year of installation
Heating system manuals
Documents relating to date of build for the main house and any
subsequent extensions
Your assessor will take measurements of the floor area and make a sketch of the
floor plan on which individual measurements and features can be noted.
Finally, your assessor will be looking at:
Window types
Thermostatic radiator valves
Any low energy light bulbs currently fitted in the main light fixtures
(but not in lamps, garages and out-buildings)
For more information about the extent of the survey and how the collected data is
used to generate your EPC... click here
What happens next?
Your assessor will submit the information gathered during the course of their
visit and generate an Energy Performance Certificate that is unique to your
property. The EPC will then be included in your Home Information Pack.
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What are my payment options?
Option 1 - Use any major credit or debit card or your PayPal
account. Our HIP order form will take you through to PayPal’s secure payment area. You don’t have to have
a PayPal account, just click 'continue' to pay by card (see screen shot below).
On completion, you’ll receive order and payment confirmation
emails and one of our team will contact you to arrange
for an energy assessor to call. We recommend this option if you need your HIP in a hurry!
Option 2 -
Make a bank transfer. Choosing the 'bank transfer' button on our HIP
order form will complete your order and our bank account number and sort
code will appear, both on the screen and in your order confirmation email. When you’re
ready to make a bank transfer, remember to quote your order number in the
reference field to allow us to match the payment to your order (your order
number can be found in your order confirmation email). On receipt of your payment
we will contact you to arrange for one of our energy assessors to call.
If
your bank uses ‘faster payments’ we’ll contact you the next working day.
If
you pay using BACS, it may take up to 4 days to reach us.
Alliance & Leicester
Account number: 05237998
Sort code: 72-00-00
Option 3 -
Send a cheque in the post. Choosing the 'send a cheque'
button on our HIP order form will complete your order and our full postal address will
appear, both on the screen and in your order confirmation email. Cheques should be
made payable to Property HIP Services Ltd. Remember to write your order number
on the back of the cheque to allow us to match the payment to your order (your
order number can be found in the order confirmation email). On receipt of your
payment we will contact you to arrange for one of our energy assessors to call.
Please note that cheques must be cleared before we can process your order.
Property HIP Services Ltd
54 Market Street
Tottington
Bury, Lancashire
BL8 3LJ
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Can I order a printed copy of my HIP?
Yes you can order a printed copy of your Home Information Pack - we realise that
some of our customers don't routinely use a computer or may simply prefer to
have a paper copy to hand. There is a £16 charge to cover administration,
printing, binding and postage and we will also provide your estate agent with an
electronic copy of the HIP on request.
The most popular option is to have the HIP sent, at no extra cost, to your
chosen email address as a single PDF document. You'll be free to forward the HIP
document to your estate agent or to any prospective buyer with the click of the
mouse. Our HIP is a clear and comprehensive PDF document, bookmarked for easy
navigation.
To read your PDF HIP document, you need to have PDF reader software such as
'Adobe Reader' installed on your computer. Follow the link below to download for
free.
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How long will the HIP take to complete?
A full HIP is usually completed in approximately 10 working days, however, occasionally, some local authority searches may take a little longer,
this will depend on the council dealing with the request. The marketing of your
property will not be affected as we provide a free Mini HIP on request that will allow your agent to
start marketing your property within 3 working days of order placement.
In the event that the HIP is still incomplete after 28 days, we will update the
pack index to include details of the missing document, the reasons why there has
been a delay, what steps are being taken to obtain it and the date on which it
is expected to be available. This procedure is followed in line with the HIP
regulations and the HIP Code.
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How do I provide my agent with a copy?
We'll forward your Mini HIP and/or completed HIP to your chosen agent if you provide us with their contact details. Alternatively,
you can forward the HIP yourself by simply attaching the PDF to an email.
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How long is a HIP valid for?
Whilst the property is on the market, there is no need to update the Home
Information Pack.
If the sale of your property stops and then starts again, you would normally be
required to assemble a new Pack and to update those documents which are now out
of date according to the requirements of the Home Information Pack Regulations.
However, the seller can carry on using the same pack without
the need to update any of the documents in the following circumstances:
• Where marketing stopped because the seller accepted an offer and wants to
restart marketing because the sale has fallen through, provided that remarketing
starts within one year of the date when marketing first began or, if later,
within 28 days of the sale falling through.
• Where marketing has stopped for any other reason, the seller may remarket the
property with the same pack provided that remarketing starts within one year of
the date when marketing first began.
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