About HIPs

A Home Information Pack, or HIP, is essentially a pack of key documents which provides important information about a property for sale in England and Wales. Combining elements such as the energy efficiency of the home, local searches and property title deeds the HIP can speed up transaction times as information is provided earlier in the process.

There are a number of documents which will be included in a HIP. Some documents must be included by law and these are known as “Required documents”. Other documents are allowed to be included and are known as “Authorised documents”.

Required documents are:

• An index - lists the documents contained in the pack and provides a checklist for all users of the HIP.
• An Energy Performance Certificate - details the energy performance of a home by rating its efficiency and environmental impact on a scale of A-G.
• A Sale Statement - provides basic inforamtion on the property such as the address and its tenure.
• Evidence of title - proces that the seller owns the property and therefore has the right to sell it.
• Local authority searches - covers areas such as planning decisions and road building proposals.
• Drainage and water searches - provides a search of drainage and water services to the property.
• Commonhold information (if applicable) – includes an official copy of the title and plan and commonhold community statement.
• Leasehold information (if applicable) – amongst other documents this includes a copy of the lease and statements of service charges.

Authorised documents are: 

• Home Condition Report – provides information on the physical condition of the property in a legally accurate report.
• Legal summary - provides a summary of the complicated documents that are in the pack.
• Home use form - gives information on boundaries, serivces and other matters of interest.
• Contents form - allows sellers to declare which fixtures and fittings are included in the sale.
• Guarantees and warranties - for work carried out in the home.
• Additional searches - which may cover items such as mining, right of way and ground stability.

What does a HIP look like? Download our example HIP here to see.

The majority of documents contained in the HIP are already included in the current conveyancing process. In fact, the only new document is the Energy Performance Certificate. HIPs have simply re-structured how and when these documents are provided and make them more readily available.

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Ordering a HIP
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