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The cost is borne by the seller. All buyers get the information free, but the seller may make a reasonable charge for copying and posting it to prospective buyers.
As a rough guide the HIP's can cost anything from £300 (inclusive) to £850 (inclusive) depending on the size of the property and whether the property is leasehold or not.
The HIP is valid as long as the property is marketed continuously. If the property is taken off the market while, for example, it is under offer or to allow a seller to change agents, then the HIP will remain valid provided that remarketing starts within one year of the date when marketing first began.
Local searches are the main time-sensitive items in the HIP and these are generally valid for six months. The Energy Performance Certificate, evidence of title and standard searches should not be more than three months old when the property goes on sale.
The majority of sales are completed within six months and it is hoped that the HIPs will shorten the time further.
With the exception of Local searches which are generally valid for six months, none of the HIPs components will have an expiry date. The regulations do not require documents to be up-dated if the property is taken off the market and put back again within one year of the date it was first marketed.
As a seller, you can compile your own HIP as long as you ensure that you have all the required documents from appropriate sources. Some are mandatory and others are non mandatory (optional), although it's possible that some of the optional documents will be requested by the buyer's conveyancer later in the process - so it might save time to get them up front.
Refer to What is a HIP for the different documentation required.
You'll need to:
You do not need a Home Information Pack for:
As from 6th April 2008, sellers of newly built homes will have to provide a HIP for potential buyers. Where a home is marketed "off-plan" before it is physically complete, it will need a pack, but will not have a full Energy Performance Certificate. Instead the pack will contain a Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA). This will look similar to a full EPC and will be produced from the design plans for the building rather than a physical assessment. Once building is physically complete the PEA should be replaced with an Energy Performance Certificate.
No, it only applies to homes put on the market on or after the 6 April 2009
The HIP is available to genuine prospective buyers. The original documents may remain either with the seller or their conveyancer, but the person responsible for marketing the property must keep a pack in their possession/control.
The seller or estate agent can turn down a request for HIP without incurring a penalty, where it is believed that:
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