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Housing Solicitors

HIPs to Go Live on (25 May 2007)

Date: 25/05/2007
Duncan Lewis, Housing Solicitors, HIPs to Go Live on

HIPs to Go Live on 1 June



The Government has confirmed that Home Information Packs (HIPs) are to go live on 1 June 2007, following their trial in several regions throughout the country. After that date, anyone who puts a house or flat on the market will have to supply prospective purchasers with a HIP.



Although the HIP is now much reduced in scope compared with the earlier proposals, having the necessary searches completed in advance of the sale should at least speed up the normal conveyancing process.



Following the testing of HIPs in trial areas, the Government has proposed changes in order to reduce the time it takes to complete local searches. Both the quality of the service provided and the amount charged for doing this vary from one area to another. A further proposal is that estate agents must include an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) with their property particulars for the first time.



In late March, the Government announced further amendments to the HIP rules, the most important of which are as follows:



· for a transitional period, vendors will be able to market their homes with a HIP which includes only the index, EPC, sale statement, evidence of title and evidence that the other required documents have been commissioned. Any omitted documents must be included in the HIP within 28 days;

· the EPC must be the first document in the pack, following the index;

· properties bought ‘off plan’ will have a separate energy assessment included;

· properties already on the market on 1 June 2007 will not need a HIP unless they are still on the market after 31 December 2007; and

· time-sensitive parts of the HIP will not need to be refreshed where the property is withdrawn from the market and remarketed by the same vendor within one year of the original date on which it was put on the market.


The office of the Ombudsman for Estate Agents has announced that the Department of Trade and Industry has approved its application to run a HIP redress scheme. From 1 June all estate agents selling homes will have to belong to an approved independent scheme, permitting customers who are treated unfairly to obtain redress.



Fines for estate agents who fail to provide HIPs (including EPCs) will be reviewed in the light of experience from June 1 and could be raised from £200 to £500 if they fail to meet their commitments.


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