Thrifty Loans

Home Information Packs (HIPs) have been with us for a week and a half for properties of four bedrooms and greater. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has put together some guidelines on vary aspects of the scheme since it went live on 1 August.

RICS took legal advice on the amended HIP regulations. Generally, a property must be marketed with a HIP which includes an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), although there are some circumstances where a HIP or EPC may not actually be required to market a property.

For properties which were first marketed before 1 August 2007, and then re-marketed after that date for the reason of a withdrawn or repudiated offer, then a HIP will not be required. To qualify for this, however, a property must be re-marketed with 28 days of the withdrawn offer.

It is expected that the Government will come up with a date by which all properties must have a HIP, however long they have been on the market. RICS expect that to be around March 2008.

Until 1 January 2008, a property can be marketed with only the request of a HIP, rather than actually having one, but there must be a HIP once the vendor has received an EPC. In all cases a HIP must be provided to a buyer before contracts are exchanged, and efforts to obtain an EPC must be ongoing throughout the selling process. As soon as an EPC is available as HIP must be compiled as soon as possible.

For properties marketed after 1 January 2008 a HIP is compulsory for all (four-bedrooms plus) properties, but need not include an EPC so long as one has been requested. You will need to make fair efforts to get the EPC within 28 days, but it must be part of the HIP by exchange of contracts.