HIPS for Sellers
What do I need to do?
The person responsible for marketing a property (in most cases, the estate agent) must have commissioned a Home Information Pack by the time that the property is on the market. As soon as you have received the Energy Performance Certificate (a compulsory part of the Pack), you must produce a Pack* and provide potential buyers with a copy of the Pack, or any document from it on request. In most cases, this period is 14 days after the date of the request.
Note: First Day Marketing provisions have been extended for an additional 5 months to allow for full flexibility - from 1 January to 1 June, to ensure continued smooth implementation of HIPs.
If you sell the home before you receive the Home Information Pack, there is no longer any need to provide a Pack. However, you will still have a legal duty to provide the Energy Performance Certificate, which must be given to the buyer at exchange of contracts, or as soon as it is available
* You must not charge for the Pack itself, but you may make a reasonable charge for copying and posting a Home Information Pack.
Your safety
Domestic Energy Assessors or Home Inspectors should always make an appointment. Do not allow unexpected cold callers into your home to carry out Energy Performance Certificates or Home Condition Reports. For more, see this leaflet produced by the Home Office, How to Beat the Bogus Caller (PDF).
Do I need a Home Information Pack?
You do not 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
- Unsafe properties and properties to be demolished.
- Properties already on the market when the duty to have a Pack arises (1 August for sales of homes with 4 bedrooms or more, and 10 September for sales of homes with 3 bedrooms or more)
For more information on exceptions, see:
Factsheet on sub-divided buildings, portfolios and annexes (PDF - 1MB, 25 Jun 2008) with example scenarios of when these properties may be exempt from needing a HIP
Issue 28 (PDF, 16 Jan 2008) of the HIP newsletter PROGRESS
Where do I get a pack?
As a seller, there are a number of options:
- Use an estate agent
- Get a solicitor to do it
- Use a specialist Pack provider
- Compile it yourself. See How do I compile my own pack? for more
- Enlist the help of other businesses, such as financial advisers
- Some supermarkets have also indicated that they might provide Packs.
If you're selling a private residential property on the open market, you will normally need a Home Information Pack. However there are some exceptions, so to check if you're affected, see Do I need a Pack?
Protecting yourself
On 29 September 2006, the Search Code and HIP Code were introduced, delivering quality standards across both the property search industry and in Home Information Packs (HIPs).
If you are commissioning a HIP, you may wish to consider a company that is a member of the HIP Code. Alternatively, if you are commissioning searches or are compiling the Pack yourself, you may wish to consider a company that has signed up to the Search Code.
Here you can find a full list of organisations that have signed up to one or both of the codes at the Property Codes Compliance Board (PCCB). The PCCB has been established to maintain a register of firms committed to operating within these standards of practice and to independently monitor compliance with the Codes. The PCCB will also encourage organisations to sign up to the Codes to promote increased consumer protection.
How Much will it Cost
The cost to sellers of Home Information Packs will be set by the market.
When you send a Pack to a prospective purchaser, you must not charge for the Pack itself, but you may make a reasonable charge for copying and posting it.
The only new cost in the buying and selling process, which is borne by the seller, is for an Energy Performance Certificate, but this is a small fraction of the overall cost of buying and selling a home - and opens up the possibility of lower fuel bills and more energy-efficient homes in the future.
All buyers get the information for free - so the Pack will be of particular benefit to first-time buyers.
The overall costs of buying and selling a home will be similar to now, but will be spread more evenly between buyers and sellers.
Compile your own Pack
If you're marketing a property yourself, you must have a Home Information Pack and make copies of it available to potential buyers *. However, even if you're using an estate agent, you can still put one together yourself.
When do I have to make a Pack available?
The person responsible for marketing a property (this could be you, or in most cases, the estate agent) must have commissioned a Home Information Pack by the time that the property is on the market. As soon as you have received the Energy Performance Certificate (a compulsory part of the Pack), you must produce a Pack and provide potential buyers with a copy of the Pack, or any document from it on request. In most cases, this period is 14 days after the date of the request.
Note: First Day Marketing provisions have been extended for an additional 5 months to allow for full flexibility - from 1 January to 1 June, to ensure continued smooth implementation of HIPs.
* Potential buyers should usually be entitled to a copy of the Pack if they want it and are prepared to pay a reasonable fee for the copying costs, but the seller or estate agent can turn down requests without incurring a penalty where it is believed that:
- The person could not afford the property in question. The seller might, for example, want to exclude people who cannot demonstrate that they have arranged an 'in principle' mortgage
- The person making the request is not really interested in buying the property - for example, a journalist posing as a buyer to gain access to the Pack relating to a celebrity's home
- The potential buyer is not a person to whom the seller would wish to sell the property. The current position is that sellers can refuse to sell to a particular person, and do not have to give a reason. It should be emphasised, however, that this does not affect anyone's rights under legislation governing discrimination on the grounds of race, sex or disability.
What should the Pack contain?
If you produce your own, you will need to ensure that you have all of the documents listed in What's in a Home Information Pack?
What do I need to do?
You'll need to:
- Contact a solicitor or conveyancer to arrange for the searches and legal documents you need or go to the appropriate local authority or a personal search company for the searches, and to the Land Registry for evidence of title.
- Locate a Domestic Energy Assessor to do your Energy Performance Certificate (note all Home Inspectors are certified as Domestic Energy Assessors as well)
- Find a Home Inspector if you want a Home Condition Report
Finding a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) or Home Inspector (HI)
If you need to find a DEA, you can do so by searching your local directory / internet business listings.
If your search is still unsuccessful, you could contact one of the accreditation or certification schemes who have details of their members. For more see:
- DEA Accreditation Schemes
- Home Inspector Certification Schemes
Both links will open up our Industry website in a new window.
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Self-compiling explained
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Self-compiling: compulsory documents
Self-compiling: leasehold/commonhold
Self-compiling: optional items
As a seller, you can compile your own Pack as long as you get all the required documents from the appropriate sources. Some are compulsory and others are optional, although it's possible that some of the optional documents will be requested by the buyer's conveyancer later in the process - so it might save time to get them now. Guidance on how to get the different documents is provided below.
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Self-compiling: compulsory documents
1) An Index is a list of the Pack's contents. An Index form can be downloaded from our Publications page.
2) Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)
An Energy Performance Certificate can be obtained by instructing a registered Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA). Note that all Home Inspectors are certified as Domestic Energy Assessors as well. See below for details of how to find a DEA.
2) A sale statement summarises the terms of sale. A sale statement is also available on our Publications page.
3) If your home is registered, evidence of title is provided by the official copies of the register and title plan, which can be obtained from the appropriate Land Registry office. A fee is payable, and such copies are acceptable as evidence in the courts. Alternatively, plain copies can be found at the Land Registry.
If your home isn't registered, you'll need to supply an official result of a search of the index map (SIM) confirming this. This can be obtained from the appropriate Land Registry office. The result should be accompanied by whatever documents you are relying on to show that you have title to the property - and therefore the right to sell it. For more information, visit the Land Registry website.
4) A Local search can be requested from the Local Land Charges department of the Local Authority that your property is in. Alternatively, you can use a channel of the National Land Information Service (NLIS) or a personal search company. Details of these companies will be in your local business listings.
5) A drainage and water search can be requested from your water supplier. Again, you can use a channel of the National Land Information Service or a personal search company. Details of these companies can be found in your local business listings.
Self-compiling: leasehold/commonhold
If your property is leasehold, you need to include a copy of the lease and any proposed changes to the lease.
Leasehold documents should have been provided to you by the landlord or manager of your building. If you've lost or mislaid any of them, you should be able to get copies from the landlord or manager - although you'll probably have to pay a fee. If the property is registered, information on how to obtain an official, court-admissible copy of the lease (along with the associated fee) will be available from the Land Registry. Plain copies of the lease may also be available.
The Lease is the only required document for a HIP but sellers should include other leasehold documents whenever available and the following are authorised for inclusion in Home Information Packs:
- Any regulations or rules that apply to the property that aren't mentioned in the lease and any proposed amendments to same
- Statements or summaries of service charges covering the previous 36 months
- Where appropriate, the most recent requests for payment of service charges, ground rent, insurance against damage for the building in which the property is situated, and insurance in respect of personal injury caused by or within the building during the 12-month period before marketing began
- The name and address of the current or proposed lessor, and details of any managing agent that has been appointed or proposed by the lessor to manage the property
- A summary of any works being undertaken or proposed that will affect the property or the building in which it's situated.
If your property is commonhold, you need to include the following information:
- Official copies of the individual register and title plan relating to the common parts and the commonhold community statement referred to in the register. These can be obtained from the appropriate Land Registry office. A fee is payable, and such copies are acceptable as evidence in the courts. These copies, together with information about the fees, can be obtained from the Land Registry
- Apart from those described in the commonhold community statement, any regulations made for the purpose of managing the commonhold and any proposed changes to them
- Most recent requests for financial contributions in respect of the property
- Details of the managing agent and any other person responsible for managing the commonhold
- Details of any proposed works to the property or the common parts.
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Self-compiling: optional items
You may also decide to include some or all of the following additional documents in your Pack. You don't have to include these documents, but it could increase the chances of a smoother sale if you do. The additional documents include:
- A Home Condition Report - an objective report on the condition of your home on which your buyer and their mortgage lender can rely. For details of how to find a Home Inspector, follow the procedure outlined in Finding a DEA above.
- Home contents amd home use forms - forms completed by the seller on a range of matters of interest to potential buyers.
- Any relevant guaranties and warranties on the property.
Additional searches, such as mining, environmental and flood-risk, will often be needed by buyers in particular areas. It will save time if sellers provide these themselves where appropriate.
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FAQ's
- When do I have to provide a HIP?
- What goes in a HIP?
- Who compiles HIPs?
- Are HIPs required across the UK?
- I'm selling my house privately - do I need a Home Information Pack?
- Who pays for the Pack?
- How will I pay for the Pack?
- Do I have to put electrical certificates in my Pack?
- I've lost guarantees of work I have had done - what do I do?
- Should the pack include a Home Condition Report?
- My house has been on the market before HIPs came in. If I change Estate Agents now, do I have to get a HIP?
When do I have to provide a HIP?
Properties marketed for sale from 14 December 2007 in England and Wales will need a Home Information Pack (HIP), which includes a home energy rating.
The Pack includes an Energy Performance Certificate, containing advice on how to cut carbon emissions and fuel bills. Also included are documents such as a sale statement, searches and evidence of title.
Currently, any property that was already on the market on the relevant commencement date (i.e. 1 August 2007 for sales of homes with four or more bedrooms; 10 September 2007 for those with three or more bedrooms and 14 December for all properties) does not need to have a HIP.
At this stage no such date has been set when all properties that are on the market will be required to have a HIP.
What goes in a HIP?
A HIP includes documents that are required when homes are bought and sold. Some documents are mandatory and others optional.
The mandatory documents are:
- An index (ie a list of the contents of the HIP)
- A sale statement (summarising the terms of sale)
- Evidence of title
- Standard searches (ie local authority enquiries and a drainage and water search)
- An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
- Commonhold information (where appropriate)
- A copy of the lease (where appropriate)
Documents that are optional include:
- A Home Condition Report (HCR)
- Additional leasehold, information
- Guarantees and warranties
- Other searches relevant to the particular area
Who compiles HIPs?
Sellers can hire estate agents, solicitors, separate pack providers, or do it themselves.
Are HIPs required across the UK?
No - only in England and Wales
I'm selling my house privately - do I need a Home Information Pack?
If you are marketing your property, even if it's just by putting a 'for sale' sign in the window, you need a Pack. Sales where no marketing takes place (e.g. to a member of the family) won't need a Pack.
Who pays for the Pack?
The seller is responsible for the cost of a Home Information Pack. The cost of the Pack is down to the market, but sellers will often be able to defer costs until late in the sale.
How will I pay for the Pack?
This depends on the agreement between the seller and the compiler of the Pack. Some examples of the ways that Packs might be paid for are as follows:
- Seller pays for the Pack upfront from estate agent, solicitor or Pack provider
- Seller compiles the Pack and pays each organisation for the relevant component (e.g. the Land Registry for the title document)
- Estate agent offers the Pack to the seller on a 'no sale, no fee' basis, where the cost of the Pack could be included in the estate agent's commission
- Estate agent offers the Pack to the seller on a 'buy now, pay on completion' basis, which is usually a credit agreement for three or six months between the seller and the organisation compiling the pack.
- These are only indications of payment models; the Pack regulations do not prescribe any particular payment method.
See What's in a Home Information Pack? for more information
Do I have to put electrical certificates in my Pack?
Electrical certificates (past or present) are not a required component of the Pack, but can be included if the seller has them.
I've lost guarantees of work I have had done - what do I do?
Don't worry - guarantees aren't a required component of the Pack, but can be included if you have them.
Should the pack include a Home Condition Report?
A Home Condition Report could help you sell your property more quickly if it shows that it is in good condition, or if it highlights any problems straight away for potential buyers, it can avoid nasty surprises for buyers later in the process.
My house has been on the market before HIPs came in. If I change Estate Agents now, do I have to get a HIP?
If your house has not been taken off the market i.e. continuous marketing has occured, then no, you will not need to commission a HIP. If however, there was a break in marketing you will need to supply a HIP.
Reproduced under the terms of the Click-Use Licence
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