Home Information Packs were implemented on 1 August 07. The Packs including Energy Performance Certificates are being implemented on a phased basis.
Packs will be required for the sale of Three bedroom properties and larger, with smaller properties being phased in as soon as sufficient energy assessors are fully qualified.
Until the end of 2007, properties can be marketed as soon as a pack is commissioned, and as a temporary measure Energy Performance Certificates can be up to 12 months old when a property is put up for sale.
A Home Information Pack (HIP) is a set of documents providing important information about a property, including energy efficiency, searches and evidence of title. The government are encouraging sellers to provide a new document called the Home Condition Report. The Home Information Packs will directly address:-
Consumer dissatisfaction - nearly nine out of 10 consumers are dissatisfied with the present process;
-
Lack of transparency - at present key information about the property only becomes available after terms of the sale have been agreed;
-
High transaction failure rate - 28 per cent of property sales fail after terms have been agreed;
-
High costs of failed transactions for consumers - over £350m lost a year;
-
Slow transaction process - twice the European average;
-
Uncertainty – 60 per cent of property sales are in chains. Delay or failure in one has a knock-on effect through the chain.
|
