Short guide to Hips

What is a HIP and how will it affect me?

A HIP is a home information pack. If you want to put your home on the market after June 1, you will have to put together one of these packs.

It will need to contain a home condition report, local authority searches and a measure of the energy efficiency of your home.

Who will put the pack together?

A variety of companies is offering to be HIP providers. Some are legal firms and others property firms.

In the event, your estate agent will probably be the one who helps you put the component parts of your HIP together. You can put a HIP together yourself if you wish.

Who pays for a HIP?

The house seller pays either before the sale of the property.

Asda, who are know dabbling in the real estate market, claims it will offer the HIP free, along with some other agencies.

Most estate agents believe that there is no such thing as a free HIP, as the offer will be recouped through the commision fee they will receive.

What will it cost?

There are no fixed fees but estimates range from £600 to £1,000.

Sounds expensive, so should I put my home on the market before the start date?

If you put your home on the market beforehand and it is still on the market after June 1, you have until Oct 31 to obtain a pack.

What could HIPs do to the housing market?

There are conflicting opinions on this. Some believe that the requirement for a HIP means that only committed sellers would put their homes up for sale and therefore the market would remain much as it is. Others believe that it will lead to a shortage of properties on the market for a set period, pushing up house prices.

What will the energy efficiency report contain?

All sorts of things, it will look at your windows, your insulation and you’re draught-proofing, whether you have thermostatic control on your radiators and the energy efficiency of your boiler. It will then rate the energy efficiency of your home on a scale from A to G.

What will the home condition report contain?

This will be very like the current survey you have carried out on your house, with the condition of walls, ceilings, floors and outbuildings. The surveyor will not be required to climb into inaccessible areas.

Will it really stop my house purchase falling through?

Again, there are conflicting opinions. Critics say that buyers are the ones who break chains and that shifting costs from buyer to seller will change nothing.

Supporters of the HIPs scheme say that the packs will speed up transactions and make them less likely to fall through, as well as making sure that sellers are serious. The only way to answer is to wait and see.

Please be sure to also research information on HIPs yourself

Government information on HIPS

Directgov compiling a HIPs

Do it yourself Home Information Pack .pdf View as HTML

Directgov Energy performance certificate

Energy performance practitioners near you

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