Changes to HIPs
Author: Gary Horsley · Posted: April 04, 2009
Three key changes to Home Information Packs apply to properties marketed on or after April 6th 2009:
- the temporary first day marketing exemption will be removed, which means that a HIP must be available on the first day a property is marketed
- a Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) completed by the seller must be included in the HIP
- the use of insurance to cover missing data in personal searches will end.
These are detailed below, along with information on how Ownerpack will continue to help property owners and estate agents to stay within the regulations while keeping workload to a minimum.
End of exemption
From April 6th 2009 marketing of a property (including sale boards, newspaper advertising on-line promotion) cannot begin until the HIP is available and all the required HIP documents are commissioned and paid for, or arrangements for payment made. The following documents are a minimum requirement before marketing can begin:
- Index
- Property Information Questionnaire
- Energy Performance Certificate or Predicted Energy Assessment
- Sustainability Certificate (new homes only)
- Sale Statement
- Land Registry Documents.
All other required documents e.g. local property searches, lease (where applicable) should be added to the HIP as soon as they are available and must be included in the Pack within 28 days of the first point of marketing.
The order of the Pack documents must now follow the list above up to the sustainability certificate (if applicable) from which point the documents can be placed in any sequence.
Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ)
The questionnaire is a mandatory requirement in HIPs for residential properties marketed for sale on or after April 6th 2009. The intention of the PIQ is to provide the buyer with a helpful checklist of information as they walk round the property. It is not intended as a replacement for enquiries made during the conveyancing process but should help reduce the opportunity for surprises further down the line.
The PIQ should be completed by the seller (or an authorised person such as an executor if it is a Probate Sale) and must be included in the pack before marketing of a property begins. The estate agent is responsible for ensuring that a completed PIQ is in the HIP: the inclusion of a blank PIQ will not comply with the HIP duties. Agents have no liability under either the HIP Regulations or the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 for the information contained in the PIQ, provided that the form is completed solely by the seller and the agent has no reason to believe the answers are wrong. However, if an agent helps the seller to complete the PIQ, for example where the seller is not the occupier of the property, then the provisions of the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 may apply.
End of property search insurance
Also from April 6th 2009, every property search in a HIP must be complete: insurance can no longer be provided to cover any missing data. (see also search price increases below)
Ownerpack help for owners and agents
The Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) must be completed at the start of the sales process. Ownerpack has taken steps to make this process easier and to ensure no time is lost.
A PIQ can be downloaded here or can be supplied by the Ownerpack estate agent. It should be completed by the property owner at once and will be collected by the Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) who visits the property to provide the Energy Performance Certificate. The DEA will then return the PIQ to the HIP compiler for the owner: this should ensure that the PIQ is completed within the same time frame as the rest of the HIP, so allowing marketing of the property to begin as planned.
Search price increase
In a further change that will impact on HIPs from April 6th, local search fees will no longer be the same across all local authorities. Where fees vary, this will be reflected in the overall cost of an Ownerpack HIP. However, many Local Authorities have yet to publish these additional charges. Therefore, for the sake of simplicity, until these charges are published the price for an Ownerpack HIP (£264.50 including VAT for a standard freehold HIP) will be maintained: further information on any changes will be advised to sellers and estate agents as soon as possible.