The YouMove Guide to HIPs

Guide to HIPs: Part II

Must you provide a HIP?

No – HIPs are no longer required, however:

• you may still choose to provide a HIP
• EPCs (Energy Performance Certificates) are still required

What do HIPs contain?

We set out the documents that a HIP must contain above. Here we describe those documents in a bit more detail:

Compulsory Documents:

• index — this acts as a checklist for the documents the HIP should contain. It must say if any are missing, give the reasons and state what steps are being taken to get them
• Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) — this is completed by the seller and provides information about the property that the buyer would want to know before making a decision to purchase
• Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) or Predicted Energy Assessment (PEA) — an EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (good) to G (poor).
  
  Although HIPs have been scrapped EPCs remain compulsory if you are selling your property. Click here for free EPC quotes.
  
  A PEA does the same thing for properties that are being bought off-plan
• sustainability information — this is for newly built homes only and measures their environmental impact
• sale statement — this provides basic information about the property such as:
• the address
• whether it is freehold or leasehold
• whether it is registered or unregistered
• whether it is being sold with or without vacant possession
• the capacity of the seller
• evidence of title
• in the case of registered property this means office copy entries and title plan supplied by the Land Registry
• in the case of unregistered land this means an index map search (from the Land Registry) plus the documents that are being relied on to provide evidence of title
• standard searches (local authority plus drainage and water) — these include:
• a search of the local land charges register
• a search of local authority records for matters of interest to buyers such as planning decisions and proposed developments
• details of the water and drainage services provided to the property
• a copy of the lease— this only applies to leasehold properties

Optional documents:

• Home Condition Report — this gives information about the physical condition of the property and any works or repairs that need to be carried out. It can be relied on as a legally accurate report and must be carried out by a certified Home Inspector
• Legal summary — this is a summary, in layman's terms, of the legal documents contained in a HIP
• Home contents form — this allows sellers to set out which fixtures and fittings are:
• included in the sale
• are not included in the sale
• may be included and at what price

We suggest that you do not include the home contents form in your HIP since it's a good idea to leave yourself room to negotiate on fixtures and fittings.

For more on this see the "negotiations" section in our separate guide "The YouMove Guide to Selling".

• specialist searches such as environmental and mining — having specialist searches done in advance can help speed up the sale of a property
• guarantees and warranties for building work and improvements that have been carried out on the property can be included in the HIP

How old can documents be?

The following documents must be no older than three months when marketing begins:

• evidence of title
• EPC or PEA
• local authority searches
• drainage and water searches

Other documents may be older than three months, however, they must be the most recent versions of those documents.

How long does a HIP last?

Once a property is on the market you do not need to update your HIP while it remains on the market.

If you take your property off the market and then put it back on you may need to compile a new HIP. You can, however, continue to use your old HIP in the following circumstances:

• you took your property off the market after receiving an offer and the sale has fallen through, provided that you are re-marketing it within a year of the date marketing first began or, if later, within 28 days of the sale falling through
• you took your property off the market for any other reason and you re-market it within a year of the date marketing first began

What is the HIP Code?

The HIP Code sets out the minimum standards that HIP providers must meet. A register of all HIP Code members is kept by the Property Codes Compliance Board (PCCB).

To be properly protected you should select a HIP provider that is a member of both the HIP Code and also AHIPP — an industry body that provides guidance on best practice to its members (see our list of recommended online HIP providers).

If your HIP provider is a member of the HIP Code they must have a formal complaints procedure, which you should go through first if you have any problems.

If you do not accept the decision they reach or if no decision has been made within eight weeks then you can complain to the Independent Property Codes Adjudication Scheme (IPCAS).