Home Information Packs (hip's) - Conveyancing Process

By Author: Finven Thomas
Total Articles: 4
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The conveyancing process when purchasing a house is one that the government have been continually looking to improve, with government researching stating that before the introduction of HIP’s, 28% of house sales collapse before the exchange of contracts. In November 2003, the government announced their Home Information Packs (HIP’s) as their first attempt to try and expedite the conveyancing process, and generally make the whole conveyancing process simpler.

Home Information Packs were initially a mandatory part of the conveyancing process and essentially incorporate many of the original parts of the conveyancing process, but under one package. The package, which was legally required to be less than 3 months old when the property is first advertised for sale, includes a sale statement and title documents for the property as well as local authority and drainage searches, all of which are a key part of the conveyancing process. They also included something which were not part of the conveyancing process and in fact were not in existence prior to 2007 (when the Home Information ...
... Packs first became mandatory), the Energy Performance Certificates. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) were introduced into the conveyancing process in order to combat global warming and to ensure the buyer new the energy efficiency of the property they were purchasing.

Despite their introduction as a legal requirement, when the HIP’s were introduced into the conveyancing process in 2007, the government made a point of advising homebuyers that whilst they may be expensive, a lot of the contents were already part of the conveyancing process so the amount you pay more than the initial fees associated with the conveyancing process, is not the full price of the Home Information Pack. The government were however very strict on those who failed to have a Home Information Pack ready when selling a property - with a fine of £200 per day the property is advertised without one issued to homeowners. Advertise your home for sale for a month without a HIP and you can suddenly find yourself stuck with a fine of up to £6,200.

In 2010 the government announced that the Home Information Packs were no longer a mandatory part of the conveyancing process, although as mentioned above, a significant amount of the work involved in the park is still a common part of the conveyancing process. Whilst Home Information Packs stopped being a mandatory part of the conveyancing process in 2010, the Energy Performance Certificates remained a legally required stage of the conveyancing process and an important survey when buying a house. Carried out by qualified assessors, it involves an assessment of areas such as double glazing, windows, radiators and insulation to generate an overall analysis of the efficiency of the property. The reason that this remains such an important part of the conveyancing process is that it will feature proposals to reduce the energy wastage in the UK and not only protect the environment but also save the homebuyer money in energy bills.
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