Home Information Packs

From 2007, the new Home Information Pack (HIP) will make it easier for people to buy and sell homes in England and Wales.

Included in the pack will be our Energy Performance Certificate showing the energy usage of the property and its environmental performance. Helpful ideas on how to improve this performance is also included.

A Home Condition Report can also be added to the HIP which will provide sellers and buyers for the first time with a clear picture of the condition of the property before negotiations begin.

The current home buying and selling process is slow, wasteful, and stressful. More than 1 in 4 transactions currently fails between offer acceptance and exchange of contracts.

Of these, more than two-fifths fail because of survey or valuation inspection findings. And, since only around one in five buyers commission a survey, many people are hit with unexpected repair costs after the sale goes through. (Research from "The key to easier home buying and selling", December 1998.)

Under the recent Housing Act, home-owners (or their selling agents) will have to produce a Home Information Pack when marketing a home for sale. The pack will contain a number of documents, such as replies to standard searches, which will help make the buying and selling process clearer, easier and speedier.