Home Information Packs – Find Out Why You Must Have One

Home Information Packs (HIPs) were first introduced by the Government in December 2007 to speed up the property transaction process. Some of the changes were announced in December 2008 that included the introduction of a new Property Information Questionnaire. This provides a summary of information about the property in one place, helping buyers make decisions about whether to view a property, and ultimately whether to make an offer.

From 6 April 2009 the Government is making some important alterations to the Home Information Pack (HIP) that will affect the stage at which it can be purchased. According to the law, every landlord must have a HIP in place before the property is marketed. This means that payment must have changed hands before advertising can begin. Our Domestic Energy Assessors are accredited to the highest standard. Hence, you can rely on the HIP, our insurance partners provide. They offer competitive prices, operate quickly and efficiently. Besides this, our Insurance partners also offer a flexible out of hours and weekend service in case you have any doubts and wish to get the clarification on HIP.

Our Insurance partners also provide you the required information on home buyers information pack. The key features of HIP are:

• All the necessary Government approvals will be provided
• An electronic PDF version will be emailed to you
• Your HIP will be supplied within 3-4 working days

However, HIP’s don’t include:

• Properties that are limited by law to use as holiday accommodation for occupation for less than 11 months per year
• Properties where there is no marketing (e.g. selling to a member of your family)
• Non-residential properties
• Mixed sales (e.g. shop with flat)
• Right to buy and similar sales
• Sales of portfolios of properties
• Unsafe properties and properties to be demolished

Home Information Packs consist of all the information that buyers and sellers need to make an informed decision. You need to provide a home information pack for new build properties.