Charnwood Borough Council

Home Information Pack

The Use of Hips in the Conveyancing Process

Home Information Packs (HIPs) will bring together information needed during the conveyancing process when marketing starts. Some of this information is already provided by the sellers and other documentation is currently obtained by or on the behalf of the buyer.

Legal obligations associated with HIPs are set out in part 5 of the Housing Act 2004 and the Home Information Pack Regulations 2007, which have been laid before Parliament on 29th March 2007. These duties will apply to whoever is responsible for the marketing and this will be either an estate agent (including a solicitor acting as an estate agent) or the seller if he or she decides to market the property themselves.

A HIP should include documents that are either "required" and must be included in packs or "authorised". Authorised documents are described in the Regulations.

The documents that are required to be in the packs are as follows:

• An Index (listing the contents of the pack)
• An energy Performance Certificate
• A Sale Statement (a summary of the interest being sold)
• Evidence of Title ( Land Registry documentation or other if unregistered)
• Standard Searches (i.e. equivalents of LLC1, Con 29)
• Where appropriate, additional information for leasehold/commonhold sales (e.g. copy of lease, management rules, details of service charges etc.)

The required information must be in the pack from the first day of marketing with the exception of searches and leasehold/commonhold information.

The new rules will not eliminate the principle of 'caveat emptor' so buyers will still be advised to seek professional help and advice. However, the contents of the pack should be reliable and there should be no need to recommission in the majority of cases.

For further details go to the Governments Home Information Pack website by using the link below.

www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk

FAQs

Who is responsible if the HIP is defective?

The person responsible for marketing the property is responsible for provision of the HIP. The provider of any specific documents within the HIP is responsible for the accuracy of those documents.

Why should my client trust searches etc. provided by the seller?

Searches may be provided by the relevant local authority or a private search company and must meet requirements of the HIP Regulations. These set out the information that is required for a search to be valid for inclusion in the pack and the minimum standards that must be met.

What if parts of the HIP are out of date - should the buyer update them?

No, this will be a matter for negotiation between the parties. However, if the property is taken off the market after a year from when it was first marketed, there may be an obligation under the Regulations to update certain time sensitive documents.