Ruth Kelly announced this week that the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) will now be delayed until August 1st. She also announced that initially HIPs will only be compulsory for properties with 4 or more bedrooms. During the last few months, there have been many changes to the proposed HIPs, so to avoid any confusion, let’s look at the facts.

Any property in England or Wales with 4 or more bedrooms that is put onto the market after August 1st 2007 needs a Home Information Pack. HIPs will cost between £360 and £700, and it is the seller who has to foot the bill. However, as long as you have commissioned a HIP, you do not have to wait for it to be completed before going ahead.

The only exception is that if you market your property to only one person (such as a member of your family), a HIP is not required, but the moment you offer it to more than one person, then you are legally obliged to provide one.

If you place your house on the market before the new law is introduced, you can continue to market your property after August 1st even though you do not have a HIP.

If you currently have a buyer for your property who subsequently withdraws from the sale after 1st August, provided you put the property back onto the market within 28 days, you will not need a HIP.

There are certain basic documents that a HIP must contain. These include:

1. An Index for the pack
2. An Energy Performance Certificate
3. A Sales Statement (details of the property)
4. Evidence of Title for registered title or Index Map Search for unregistered title.
5. Required Searches (such as land, planning, water and drainage)

If you wish to include more information for the purchaser, then you can, but the more you include, the more it will cost to produce.

All documents in the pack must be dated within twelve months from the time the property was first marketed, but there is no obligation for the seller to update these documents.

This is the situation as it stands at the moment, but things will probably change and smaller properties will be included at some time in the future. We will keep you informed, but if you are planning to place your property on the market, we will be happy to help you obtain an HIP which you can then hand to your estate agent.

If you need any further advice on conveyancing or HIPs contact Debbie Matthews or Stephen Frith at Motley & Hope . Telephone Debbie or Stephen on 01767 600600 or e-mail debbiematthews@motleyandhope.co.uk or stephenfrith@motleyandhope.co.uk.