Home Information & Home Seller Packs For Landlords!

By Author: Sadhana
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Most of the landlords are familiar with the term Home Information Packs. HIP's basically contain two types of documentation: Compulsory information & Optional information.

Compulsory Information - It contains information regarding the Sale Statement, Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ), Evidence of Title and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), sustainability information (required for newly built homes), sale statement and standard searches (local authority, drainage and water). If a landlord is letting his or he property on lease, they must provide a copy of the lease.

Optional Information - This contains information such as the legal summary, home use/contents form, specialised search reports (e.g. a mining search) and the Home Condition Report, a legal report on the physical condition of the property that brings to light any problems which will incur repair costs.

Landlords are required to provide a (HIP) if they are marketing residential property. Since HIP contains vivid information regarding the property, prospective home buyers can be rest assured of making the right choice with ...
... regard to buying a property.

History About HIP:

Home Information Packs (HIPs) were first introduced by the Government in December 2007 to speed up the property transaction process. In December 2008, Some changes were announced to it. This included the introduction of a new Property Information Questionnaire that provides a summary of information about the property in one place, helping buyers make decisions about whether to view a property, and ultimately whether to make an offer.

From this perspective, HIP holds abundant prominence for both landlords and prospective buyers of property.

If you are a prospective home buyer, you may wonder who is responsible for obtaining a HIP. It is the party selling a property that is responsible for providing a Home Information Pack. If you are a buyer, you have the right to receive a copy of the Home Information Pack, except where the seller believes that the buyer can't afford the property, isn't genuinely interested or is a risk to it. However, if you feel you're being unlawfully denied a copy, you can contact a local authority trading standards officer who will look into the case.

Rather than risking your property and suffering heavy losses at a later stage, you can safeguard your property with HIP. Apart from the scores of advantages an HIP has, there are some exceptions that you must keep in mind. You will not need it for:

properties that are limited by law to use as holiday accommodation for occupation for less than 11 months per year
properties where there is no marketing (e.g. selling to a member of your family)
non-residential properties
mixed sales (e.g. shop with flat)
right to buy and similar sales
sales of portfolios of properties
unsafe properties and properties to be demolished

If you keep these things in mind, then you can be rest assured of making the right choice.

Sadhana D, Expert Author, Platinum Status. Information on Home sellers packs: Home Sellers PackHome information packs enquiries at: Home Information Pack