Home Information Packs
Under the provisions of the Housing Act 2004 a Home Information Pack (HIP), sometimes called a Seller's Pack, will have to be provided before a property in England and Wales can be put on the open market for sale with vacant possession.
The pack will be a set of documents about the property.
Contents
The pack must contain the following, which must be no more than three months old when the property is first marketed:
- Index
- Energy Performance Certificate
- Sale Statement
- Title documents for the property
- Local Authority and drainage searches
If the property is leasehold or commonhold, then the pack must also include the following:
- Copy of the lease
- Building insurance policy
- Contact details for the landlord or management and any legal details
- Regulations that apply
- Recent service charge receipts and accounts
For a transitional period sellers can market their homes without the searches or leasehold documents as long as the pack contains evidence that they have been commissioned and will be included as soon as practicable but certainly within 28 days.
The pack may also contain some or all of these authorised documents:
- Home Condition Report
- Two sellers questionnaire forms called Home Use Form and Home Contents Form
- Legal summary
- Other searches such as a mining search