Home Information Pack (HIP) Information Sheet

Before a property can be marketed For Sale a Home Information Pack (HIP) must be arranged.

Why do you need a HIP?

A HIP is a set of documents that provides the buyer with key information on the property and must be provided by the seller or the seller's agent. The HIP lets buyers see important information about the property at the start of the process, free of charge. This means there is less chance of buyers becoming aware of any surprises at the end of the process. The HIP can help reduce delays and extra expense to the buyer and seller.

What does a HIP contain?

The HIP is made up of required (compulsory) and authorised (optional) items.

Compulsory documents:

• Home Information Pack Index
• Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ)
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) or Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA)
• sustainability information (required for newly built homes)
• sale statement
• evidence of title

If the following documents are unavailable when marketing begins, they should be added to the HIP as soon as they are available. These documents must be included within 28 days of the date the property was first placed on the market:

• standard searches (local authority and drainage and water)
• a copy of the lease for leasehold properties
• commonhold documents, where appropriate

Optional documents:

Other documents can be included within your HIP, but these are optional. If they are included, it could help to speed up the sale and ensure that the process goes more smoothly. These include:

• Home Condition Report
• legal summary
• home use/contents form
• other documents like specialist searches (e.g. Seller may choose to include a mining search)

Who compiles the HIP?

You can compile it yourself or you can hire an estate agent, solicitor or HIP provider to do it for you. Always make sure that your HIP provider is signed up to a code of practice, like the HIP Code. We have negotiated with a leading local solicitor to provide HIP for our clients at discounted prices. They have also agreed to refund most of the cost of this if the client also instructs them to dothe conveyancing.

Who pays for the HIP?

The seller is responsible for the ost of a HIP.

You don’t need a HIP for:

• properties where there is no marketing, for example if you are selling to a member of your family
• non-residential properties
• properties limited by law to use as holiday accommodation or occupation for less than 11 months per year
• mixed sales, for example a shop with flat
• sales of portfolios of properties, for example selling two properties together
• properties not being sold with completely vacant possession, for example with a sitting tenant
• unsafe properties and properties due to be demolished

• properties sold through the ‘Right to Buy’, ‘Right to Acquire’ and ‘Social HomeBuy’ homeownership schemes