The Government is introducing Home Information Packs to improve the process of buying and selling a home.
Clients who sell through Castles will receive a standard Home Information Pack (HIP) [including the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)] free of charge.*
We will organise and take responsibility for the H.I.P. which will in most cases be available within 7 days. We have our own Energy Inspector (you may have heard of a severe shortage of qualified inspectors). We have the knowledge and experience to produce our HIP's in house ensuring seamless integration with the Sales process.
• No credit agreements.
• One Point of Contact.
• Regulated by the Ombudsman for Estate Agents.
• One agency agreement clear and transparent.
• A selling agent who is familiar with the HIP and understands the EPC.
• No hidden 'Extras'.
• No charging buyers for a copy of the HIP.
In short there really is little that you need to do -
leave it to us.
More detailed information follows:-
HIP Update 2008
All homes marketed for sale after 14 December 2007 in England and Wales need a Home Information Pack (HIP) (subject to some exceptions).
A key component of the HIP is the Energy Performance Certificate
(EPC), which will rate the home's energy efficiency, using graphs like those on fridges and washing machines.
It includes recommendations on how to cut fuel bills and reduce carbon emissions, encouraging people to make improvements to the energy efficiency of their homes.
Currently, any property that was already on the market on the relevant commencement date (ie 1 August 2007 for sales of homes with four or more bedrooms; 10 September 2007 for those with three or more bedrooms and 14 December for all properties) does not need to have a Home Information Pack.
At this stage no date has been set when all properties that are on the market will be required to have a Pack. The First Day Marketing provision comes into force on 1 June 2008. This means beyond the 1st June 2008 all property (not already on the market) will need to have a HIP in place before marketing can commence.
The regulations have been temporarily amended until 1 June 2008. During this time the required leasehold information will only be a copy of the Lease. The other leasehold documents that are currently required will become authorised (optional) during this period.
To find out more about HIP’s and how it may affect you please contact your local Castles office.
Updated Jan 08
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From 1st August 2007, the law requires that the sellers of residential property or their estate agents must have commissioned a H.I.P. before putting their homes up for sale. Provided that there is evidence that a H.I.P. and EPC have been commissioned full marketing can take place. The Energy Performance (EPC) will, however have to be in place prior to exchange of contracts. The regulations only apply to homes that commence being marketed after 1st August.
At present and as a temporary measure the regulations only apply to homes 3 or 4 bedrooms. The remaining housing stock will be phased in over the next few months. (The government are vague on the timescale!)
For the time being at least the H.I.P. is in a much reduced form from the original proposals and should cause very little disturbance to the market.
Clients who sell through Castles will benefit from a free H.I.P. *
Castles will take full responsibility for providing the HIP and ensuring that the contents comply with current legislation.
*Terms and Conditions Apply.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Updated July 07
Next stage for Home Information Packs and Energy Performance Certificates announced
The Government has announced that Home Information Packs (HIPs) and Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) will be rolled out to three bedroom properties from September 10.
HIPs and EPCs are being introduced on a phased basis to ensure a smooth transition in the housing market, and to begin the process of transforming the home buying and selling process in the interests of consumers and the environment at the earliest opportunity.
Following the introduction of the packs for homes with four bedrooms and above on August 1, the Government has confirmed there will be enough energy assessors, nationally and regionally.
HIPs and EPCs will give house buyers energy ratings for homes for the first time, from A to G - similar to consumer friendly ratings for fridges, helping to lower fuel bills and reduce carbon emissions. The packs will also help to cut costs for consumers by increasing transparency and competition in the home buying and selling process.
A further announcement on rolling out HIPs and EPCs to other properties will be made in due course.
Measures recommended in the EPC could save the average consumer £300 a year off their fuel bills, according to the Energy Saving Trust. Typical 'green grants' of £100 to £300 for energy saving improvements like loft insulation are available for many home owners.
A new system to make it easier for home owners to access these grants from energy suppliers was launched earlier this month. Energy suppliers are providing immediate access and information about green grants and offers to home buyers when they sign up to an energy contract. A new portal on the Energy Saving Trust’s website also allows consumers to tap in their postcode to find out offers available.
Castles are offering HIPs as part of their ordinary fees. Others are charging in the region of £300 to £350 plus VAT on an upfront or deferred basis.
Home Information Pack Update
Castles have been preparing for The Governments revised August 1st launch date for a number of years and below outline the current requirements of the legislation. Below is a synopsis of the current requirements but, of course, for further information and details of castles HIP inclusive sales package contact Castles.
From 1 August 2007, Home Information Packs (HIP) are compulsory for four bedroom properties and larger. Packs will be extended, on a phased basis, to smaller properties as soon as sufficient energy assessors are fully qualified.
If you're a seller, you need to make sure you (or your agent) have commissioned a HIP by the time that you market your property. This relaxation of the requirements (until the end of the year) means your agent can market your home immediately.
The HIP contains important information that buyers need to know.
For sellers, providing a HIP upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home.
There are two types of information to be found in the HIP Compulsory ‘Required’ Documents and Optional ‘Authorised’ documents.
The Required documents are: INDEX, SALE STATEMENT, ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE, STANDARD SEARCHES and EVIDENCE OF TITLE with leasehold properties also including additional information for leasehold or commonhold, where applicable.
THE INDEX: The Index provides a checklist for sellers, buyers, estate agents and enforcement authorities. Where a document that must be included in the HIP is unavailable, the Index must say so, give the reason it is missing, and indicate what steps are being taken to obtain it. Where documents are added to or removed from the Pack at a later stage, the Index should be revised accordingly.
THE ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE (EPC): EPC’s tell you how energy efficient a home is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes - which should have the lowest fuel bills - are in band A.
The EPC also tells you, on a scale of A-G, about the impact the home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
The average property in the UK is in bands D-E for both ratings. The EPC includes recommendations on ways to improve the home's energy efficiency to save you money and help the environment.
THE SALE STATEMENT: The sale statement should provide some basic information about the property, including:
- The address of the property being sold
- Whether the property is freehold, leasehold or commonhold
- Whether the property is registered or unregistered
- Whether or not the property is being sold with vacant possession
STANDARD SEARCHES: The local land charges register relating to the property being sold. If the search is carried out by the local authority, an official search certificate will be provided. Alternatively a personal search company can be used.
Other records held by the local authority on matters of interest to buyers, such as planning decisions and road building proposals. These are referred to as local enquiries in the HIP regulations. A local authority or a personal search company can be used.
The provision of drainage and water services to the property. The local water company or a personal search company can be used (however, the search must comply with the HIP Regulations).
EVIDENCE OF TITLE: These documents prove that the seller owns the property and therefore has the right to sell it. Where the property being sold is registered, certain documents that are available on request from the Land Registry must be included in the HIP. These provide an up-to-date official record of who owns the land, and consist of:
- Official copies of the individual register (made up of a property register, proprietorship register and, typically, a charges register).
- An official copy of the title plan
For sales of unregistered land, the HIP must include copies of a certificate of an official search of the index map (obtained from the Land Registry), and those documents that the seller intends to rely on to provide evidence of title to the property, and thus the right to sell it.
Castles have the facility to produce the HIP In House to save time and reduce costs to enable the HIP to be offered as part of Castles service with no extra charge for the HIP preparation.
The HIP fiasco continues.
Secretary of State, Ruth Kelly made a statement to the House Of Commons stating that as there was not going to be enough Energy Assessors ready for 1st June the HIP legislation as anticipated was to be delayed till the 1st August, and changed. They have decided to introduce HIPs for properties with 4+ bedrooms on that date. Smaller properties would follow thereafter.
They have also said that until the end of the year you can market a property as soon as a pack is commissioned.
Finally they have also said that an EPC will now be valid for 12 months.
In reality the policy is in absolute chaos and it remains to be seen if this controversial bill will ever see the light of day.
Castles were prepared for the 1st of June with their own energy assessor and HIP production facility and will be prepared for the 1st of August, if it happens at all….Please watch this space for further developments.
Home Information Packs
Following The Governments announcement on March 29th Estate Agents across the country are preparing themselves for the biggest change in selling property since the 1925 Land Registry Laws. From the 1st June 2007 it will be required that anyone selling their property will require a Home Information Pack to be in place.
The controversial Home information Pack legislation is designed to make the house buying process more transparent and quicker but will also fulfil the governments’ commitment to Energy Efficiency Reports on all property before changing hands.
The HIP will contain an Index, Sale Statement, Energy Efficiency Report, Evidence of Title including title plan and official register and local searches (including drainage and water). Leashold or commonhold properties should also include a copy of the lease and management rules and details of current and future service charges including, insurance and ground rents.
For a transitional period, sellers can market their homes with a HIP that includes the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), sale statement, evidence of title and index; and evidence that other documents have been commissioned and will be included in the pack as soon as practicable (and certainly within 28 days).
There are other documents that MAY be included within the pack such as fixtures and fittings list and a Home Condition Report (HCR) they are called authorised. The contents of the pack are limited to what is required and what is authorised.
With less than 8 weeks to go there is a steep learning curve for both estate agents the legal profession and the general public.
Local estate agents Castles have been preparing for the legislation for some time with Duncan Pate FNAEA recently qualifying as a Home Inspector. The Home Inspector Qualification is one of only two qualifying qualifications necessary to undertake the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). With most Home Inspectors cutting short their qualification last June when the Home Condition report was downgraded to an optional document in the pack it is feared there may, in the short term, be a shortage of Domestic Energy Assessors (DEA’s). Duncan said “Although the course took 18 month of studying I am well aware of the impending changes which will prove useful in educating and preparing all the staff at Castles”. He added “In addition producing the Energy Performance Certificate EPC ‘in house’ will mean no delay for Castles clients in getting their houses on the market”.
There is no duty to refresh time-sensitive parts of the HIP and if a property is taken off the market a house won’t need a new HIP where the property is re-marketed by the same seller within one year of the original marketing date. Properties already on the market by 1 June 2007 will not need a HIP unless they remain on the market after 31 December 2007.
Costs of the new HIP will be decided by market forces but there will be other factors to consider when choosing your estate agent. Choosing an agent who understands how to prepare your pack speedily and accurately whilst being able to get the information effectively to potential purchasers will be crucial to in the new climate.
Changes to the Homes Bill
On 18th July 2006 The Housing Minister Yvette Cooper announced fundamental changes to the Governments Homes Bill. Crucially the requirement for a Home Condition Report (survey) before putting your property on the market has been withdrawn from the legislation. This throws the remaining proposals into some doubt as the HCR was always a crucial part of the changes in the home buying process. Although welcoming the changes Duncan Pate Director of Castles commented “The objections to the proposed changes recently have been largely similar to the objections that were made when the Bristol Pilot of the proposals was undertaken in 1999. So why the Government has waited until now before making the decision to withdraw the HCR is baffling”.
The requirement for basic legal information and searches is largely the same but without the condition report the benefits of the restructuring the process is questionable. The Energy Performance Certificate remains which is welcomed by Castles. The implementation date remains 1st June 2007.
The full transcript with the changes is listed on our news page.
Introduction to the home information pack
The Government is committed to making it easier for people buying and selling homes in England and Wales through the introduction of the home information pack
Under the new Housing Act, from June 1st 2007 home-owners or their selling agents will be required to have a home information pack when marketing homes for sale, and to make a copy of the pack available to prospective buyers on request. It will also require estate agents, marketing homes for sale, to belong to an approved redress scheme.
Under the present home buying process, a lot of the information needed about a property by buyers and sellers only becomes available after an offer has been made and accepted. This may mean that problems with the property only come to light several weeks later, by which time the buyer and seller may have incurred significant costs in legal fees, searches, surveys, etc. This can cause the terms to be renegotiated, delay exchange of contracts and even result in transactions failing altogether.
Introducing the home information pack is a key part of a package of measures to reform the home buying and selling process.
Legislation to introduce the pack was first introduced in the Homes Bill on 12 December 2000. That Bill was unable to complete its passage before Parliament was dissolved for the 2001 General Election. Legislation was reintroduced as part of the Housing Bill, which became an Act in November 2004.
As part of the commitment to improve the home buying and selling process, the Lord Chancellors Department (now the Department for Constitutional Affairs) brought in the Land Registration Act (2002). This will modernise the land registration system and prepare the way for electronic conveyancing. Electronic conveyancing will complement our proposals for the home information pack.
Home information packs will ensure that important information is provided up front at the very start, and electronic conveyancing will speed up the conveyancing process thereafter. Taken together, both of these measures will help create a faster and more efficient home buying and selling system. The Land Registry published their report on the results of their e-conveyancing consultation on 17 March 2003 on their website.
What will the home information pack contain?
The ODPM published a separate consultation paper on the detailed contents of the home information pack in March 2003 and received a broadly positive response.
The Pack is likely to include the following documents, most of which are currently provided later in the sale:
- terms of sale;
- evidence of title;
- replies to standard preliminary enquiries made on behalf of buyers;
- copies of any planning, listed building and building regulations consents and approvals;
- for new properties, copies of warranties and guarantees;
- any guarantees for work carried out on the property;
- replies to local searches; and
- a home condition report based on a professional survey of the property, including an energy efficiency assessment.
Also, for leasehold properties:
- a copy of the lease;
- most recent service charge accounts and receipts;
- building insurance policy details and payment receipts;
- regulations made by the landlord or management company; and
- memorandum and articles of the landlord or management company.
What else is the government doing?
The home information pack is only one part of a package of measures to tackle problems with the current home buying and selling process. Other aspects are being pursued on a voluntary basis and do not require legislation. These include:
- better preparation by buyers (e.g. obtaining in principle mortgage offers before making an offer on a property);
- faster mortgage offers and faster local authority searches;
- better use of technology to speed up the process;
- the introduction of e-conveyancing;
- action by lenders to provide title deeds quickly;
- action by insurers to develop further and market more widely insurance to protect buyers and sellers from gazumping and other problems.
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