Home Information Packs

Notice about Home Information Packs

Please note that the Home Information Pack duties are suspended with immediate effect from 21 May 2010. This means that homes marketed for sale on or after this date will no longer require a Home Information Pack. However, Energy Performance Certificates are still required.

All home owners in England and Wales need to prepare a Home Information Pack (HIP) before putting their home up for sale.

The Home Information Pack makes home buying and selling faster, simpler, and easier to understand.

What's in a Home Information Pack?
The Home Information Pack contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know.
Home Information Packs including Energy Performance Certificates have been implemented on a phased basis which started on 1 August 2007.

For sellers, providing a Pack upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home.
For buyers, the Pack provides, free of charge, essential information about properties they are considering buying.

Essential information

A Home Information Pack will bring together key information needed by buyers and sellers at the very start of the home-buying process, and ensure that important information about improving the energy efficiency of homes is made available every time a property is sold.
Buyers should ask to see the Pack on a property they are interested in, and check that it's complete. If any items are missing, there should be a satisfactory explanation and an assurance that the missing items will be provided as soon as possible.

What does a Pack contain? Optional items

Compulsory items The following compulsory documents must be included in a Home Information Pack.

Home Information Pack Index
Energy Performance Certificate
Sale statement
Standard searches
Evidence of title
Additional information for leasehold and commonhold sales, where appropriate
Optional items - some documents in the Home Information Pack are optional; these include:
Home Condition Report
Legal summary
Home use/contents forms
Other documents

Energy Performance Certificates
An Energy Performance Certificate is part of a Home Information Pack. The certificates are commissioned by the seller (or their agent) from an accredited Energy Assessor, who visits the property to collect the relevant data and creates the certificate. This data includes the date, construction and location of the house and relevant fittings (heating systems, insulation or double glazing, for example).

What the Certificate means
The Energy Performance Certificate is similar to the certificates now provided with domestic appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines.
Its purpose is to record how energy-efficient a property is as a building. The certificate will provide a rating of the property from A to G, where A is very efficient and G is very inefficient.
Two ratings are shown. The environmental impact rating is a measure of a home's impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (C02) emissions - the higher the rating, the less impact it has on the environment.
The energy-efficiency rating is a measure of a home's overall efficiency. The higher the rating, the more energy-efficient the home is, and the lower the fuel bills are likely to be.
Each rating is based on the performance of the building itself and its services (such as heating and lighting), rather than the domestic appliances within it. This is known as an asset rating. The certificate also lists the potential rating of the building if all the cost-effective measures were installed.
The ratings will vary according to the age, location, size and condition of the building. The potential rating on the certificate will take these factors into account, and the suggested measures will be tailored so that they are realistic for the particular building.

Getting a Pack

For sellers
If you are selling your home, there are a number of options:
Use an estate agent
Contact your solicitor to assist you
Use a specialist Home Information Pack provider
Enlist the help of other businesses, such as financial advisers