Home Information Pack

A Home Information Pack, or HIP, is essentially a pack of key documents which provides important information about a property for sale in England and Wales. Combining elements such as the energy efficiency of the home, local searches and property title deeds the HIP can speed up transaction times as information is provided earlier in the process.

There are a number of documents which will be included in a HIP. Some documents must be included by law and these are known as “Required documents”. Other documents are allowed to be included and are known as “Authorised documents”.

Required documents are:

• An index - lists the documents contained in the pack and provides a checklist for all users of the HIP.
• An Energy Performance Certificate - details the energy performance of a home by rating its efficiency and environmental impact on a scale of A-G.
• A Sale Statement - provides basic information on the property such as the address and its tenure.
• Evidence of title - proves that the seller owns the property and therefore has the right to sell it.
• Local authority searches - covers areas such as planning decisions and road building proposals.
• Drainage and water searches - provides a search of drainage and water services to the property.
• Commonhold information (if applicable) – includes an official copy of the title and plan and commonhold community statement.
• Leasehold information (if applicable) – amongst other documents this includes a copy of the lease and statements of service charges.

Authorised documents are: 

• Home Condition Report – provides information on the physical condition of the property in a legally accurate report.
• Legal summary - provides a summary of the complicated documents that are in the pack.
• Home use form - gives information on boundaries, services and other matters of interest.
• Contents form - allows sellers to declare which fixtures and fittings are included in the sale.
• Guarantees and warranties - for work carried out in the home.
• Additional searches - which may cover items such as mining, right of way and ground stability.

The current home buying and selling process is slow, expensive and can often result in failure and disappointment. HIPs are being introduced to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the home buying and selling process as well as to reduce carbon emissions from our homes. But why do we need them? 

• On average it takes more than 6.5 months from marketing a property to completion of the sale
• 1 in 4 transactions takes 9 months or longer
• It takes 10 days longer than in 1998 to move from offer agreed to exchange of contract - 81 days
• 23% of buyers experienced at least one failed transaction
• If a transaction fails as a sufficiently late stage between offer and exchange, wasted costs to the buyer are typically over £1,000!
• 27% of the UK's carbon emissions come from our homes!
• The average home owner could save around £300 in fuel bills by making their home more energy efficient!

By restructuring the current process with the introduction of HIPs, many of these problems will be reduced.

• give everyone a clearer picture from the start
• ensure that sellers are serious before they put their house on the market
• reduce transaction times
• reduce costs in the home buying process
• make the process smoother, less stressful and less confusing for all 
• improve awareness of energy efficiency and help tackle climate change

What does a HIP look like? Download our example HIP here to see.

The majority of documents contained in the HIP are already included in the current conveyancing process. In fact, the only new document is the Energy Performance Certificate. HIPs have simply re-structured how and when these documents are provided and make them more readily available.