Home Information Packs

As of April 6th 2009 home owners in England and Wales are legally required to be in possession of a Home Information Pack BEFORE they can start marketing their property.

On 22nd May 2007 Ruth Kelly of the Department of Communities and Local Government, announced a major u-turn in the governments' plans to rush through the launch of Home Information Packs. The packs (or HIP's) were due to become a legal requirement of the home sale process in England and Wales on 1st June 2007, regardless of the concerns of the property sector.

The climb down was due to pressure from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) who had taken the unprecedented step of requesting a judicial review of the whole affair.

However, the government was still determined to forge ahead with the introduction of Home Information Packs - a new date was set for 1st August 2007. The major concession here was that they would initially be introduced for properties with 4 or more bedrooms, and be introduced for properties with fewer bedrooms soon after. A date of September 10th was then set to extend the requirement for a pack to properties with 3 bedrooms. Then in late November 2007 it was announced that the requirement was being extended to include one and two bedroom properties from 14th December 2007. Therefore, subject to a small number of exceptions, all properties in Endland and Wales being newly marketed on or after 14th December 2007 will require a Home Information Pack.

With all the contradictory information that has been released from various sources about HIP's it is no wonder that many home owners are confused. Will they cost £200 or £1000? Can I or can't I market my house before I have a completed HIP? What exactly is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)? How long will a pack last before I need to renew it?

Though we don't directly provide Home Information Packs we have invested a lot of time investigating the numerous companies that have entered the market to provide them. Some are entirely new businesses born out of the need for this new service. Others are established businesses that see HIP provision as a natural extension to their existing services - eg solicitors.

Home Information Pack providers

We have provided links to Home Information Pack providers below. Please contact them to discuss your options if you don't already have this arranged.

Property Search Group - Click the banner below to visit the PSG website

HIP Providers: To advertise nationally to vendors and agents across the country please contact us.