Home Information Packs (Hips)

Artificial hips help the ageing and infirm, but government Hips for property owners seem to help no one except the hips purveyors. Estate agents think they are discouraging sellers as they have to pay up front for a Hip and this ‘discourages the market testers who may have sold if the deal was right’.

Home Information Pack Contents

1. Energy performance certificate
2. A Property Information Questionnaire
3. Evidence of title
4. Local Authority searches
5. Drainage and water searches
6. Leasehold information
7. Sales particulars

Not included: all the legal documents a solicitor needs prior to exchanging contracts.

How Long Does A Hip Last?

A hip lasts until the house is sold. If it is taken off the market for less than 12 months and put back on, the same HIP may be used. But, if it is taken off for 12 months or more you will need a new one.

Who Needs a Hip?

Anyone marketing a house in England and Wales (Scotland Excluded). e.g. if you sell to a family member directly there is no need to get a HIP. But, if you put a for sale sign in window, you need to commission one.

Problems with Hips

1. It takes time to prepare a Hip and whilst some aspects can be done in parallel in some areas you need to start 3 months before you want to sell.
2. The cost of a hip can vary from £200- £500 for a similar property. You do not need to buy your Hip from your high street estate agent. According to Which you should shop around for a better price.
3. You still need a solicitor to ensure you acquire clean title to the purchased property.
4. Buyers may still need to conduct extra searches on top of the Hip. This can reveal other issues with local authorities like parking regulation changes or lack of planning permissions for gardens.
5. Searches for Hips can go out of date before the property is sold.
6. Energy performance certificates seem to be disregarded by potential buyers.

The Future

Hips should speed up the selling process but that is still fraught with delays at your solicitor.

A new government may scrap the present scheme and bring in a more comprehensive but none compulsory‘ Ready Pack’ containing all the legal documents and draft contracts.

Sales that are currently excluded from HIP regulations including, sales that are not marketed, Right to buy schemes, mixed properties may be brought into a scheme.

For more information for Buyers, Sellers or the industry professionals read the Direct Gov web site