The Home Information Pack, or HIP, is a pack of documents that include search documents, Land Registry legal documents, a home Energy Performance Certification and other legal documents. While some property types are exempt from having to have a HIP in place, the majority of sellers of properties in England and Wales are legally required to have one from the first day the property is marketed.

Exemptions exist for business properties, dual use properties, and sales that include tenants. Holiday homes and seasonal accommodation are also exempt, as are buildings that are marketed as unsafe, ready for demolition, or for redevelopment purposes. Some developers that have a portfolio of sales may also find they are exempt from having to pay for a HIP.

It usually takes anywhere from one to two weeks for the information to be collected and the HIP completed. Some of the documents need to be less than three months old and all are required to be less than twelve months old from the day the property is first marketed. The HIP will remain valid until marketing ceases or the property is sold. If the property is removed from the market and put back up for sale within 12 months the same HIP can be used without having to get a replacement.

A Home Informtion Pack is designed to give the buyer some clarity and ensure that the seller has the right to sell the property as they are selling it. Many of the documents are time sensitive and presuming you aren’t exempt from having to have a HIP then it should be in place for the first day that the property is marketed.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 at 2:12 pm and is filed under Conveyancing News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.