If you are planning to sell your property you will no longer need Home Information Packs (HIPS) as from Friday 21 May 2010.
The coalition Government's announcement that the requirement for HIPS has been suspended with immediate effect from 21 May 2010 will be welcome news to home sellers. However, Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) are still required and must be commissioned before marketing can begin.
HIPS were introduced in 2007 in England and Wales with the aim of speeding up sale transactions by requiring sellers to provide much of the conveyancing information upfront. The introduction of HIPS has always been controversial and HIPS providers which were formed on the back of the introduction of the pack will now suffer huge losses. Suspension of HIPS means that the sellers will no longer need to pay costs upfront to put their house on the market and is likely to encourage more people to sell.
Julie commented, "HIPS did not speed up many transactions for it did not need to include all the title deeds. In addition a HIP usually provided poor quality personal Local Searches as these were cheaper to produce which led to delays later in the sale. I am personally very pleased to see them disappear."
Sellers, however, will still have a duty to commission an EPC before marketing their property or making a private sale. This means the seller must instruct an Energy Assessor to carry out an Energy Assessment prior to putting their house on the market.
Don't forget that an EPC is also needed before selling most commercial properties and before letting a house to a tenant, if you have not already obtained one,
Would-be sellers are welcome to contact Julie at Charlesworth Nicholl & Co who can supply EPCs for you on 01363 774706 or e-mail jt@charlesworthnicholl.co.uk