Maalems Independent Estate Agents

Introduction to the Home Information Pack

The Government is committed to making it easier for people buying and selling homes in England and Wales through the introduction of the home information pack (H.I.P.).

Under the new Hosting Act, from June 2007 home-owners or their selling agents will be required to have a home information pack when marketing homes for sale, and to make a copy of the pack available to prospective buyers on request. It will also require estate agents, marketing homes for sale, to belong to an approved redress scheme.

Under the present home buying process, a lot of the information needed about a property by buyers and sellers only becomes available after an offer has been made and accepted. This may mean that problems with the property only come to light several weeks later, by which time the buyer or seller may have incurred significant costs in legal fees, searches, surveys etc. This can cause the terms to be renegotiated, delay exchange of contracts and even result in transactions failing altogether.

Extensive research has shown that the current system is extremely inefficient and wasteful and does not look after the best interests of buyers or sellers. Delays in the present system can encourage gazumping and other problems. Providing key information up front in the home information pack will make the process more efficient, clearer and easier for consumers. This means less risk of transactions collapsing, less wasted expenditure and greater certainty for everyone earlier in the process.

Introducing the home information pack is a key part of a package of measures to reform the home buying and selling process.

Legislation to introduce the pack was first introduced in the Homes Bill on 12 December 2000. That Bill was unable to complete its passage before Parliament was dissolved for the 2001 General Election. Legislation was reintroduced as part of the Housing Bill, which became an Act in November 2004.

As part of the commitment to improve the home buying and selling process, the Lord Chancellors Department (now the Department for Constitutional Affairs) brought in the Land Registration Act (2002). This will modernise the land registration system and prepare the way for electronic conveyancing. Electronic conveyancing will complement our proposals for the home information pack.

Home information packs will ensure that important information is provided up front at the very start, and electronic conveyancing will speed up the conveyancing process thereafter. Taken together, both of these measures will help create a faster and more efficient home buying and selling system. The Land Registry published their report on the results of their e-conveyancing consultation on 17 March 2003 on their website.

What will the Home Information Pack contain?

The Pack is likely to include the following documents, most of which are currently provided later in the sale:

• terms of sale
• evidence of title
• replies to standard preliminary enquiries made on behalf of buyers
• copies of any planning, listed building and building regulations consents and approvals
• for new properties, copies of warranties and guarantees
• any guarantees for work carried out on the property
• replies to local searches
• a home condition report based on a professional survey of the property, including energy efficiency assessment

Also for leasehold properties:

• a copy of the lease
• most recent service charge accounts and receipts
• building insurance policy details and payment receipts
• regulations made by the landlord or management company
• memorandum and articles of the landlord or management company