Auctioneers Property for sale in Sedbergh,the Yorkshire Dales,Lakes District & throughout Cumbria by Chris Whelan Estate Agents

A scheme dreamt up by the Government initially to prevent gazumping, since disclaimed, then purporting to increase the speed of sale, again disclaimed or at least sidelined and now apparently to reduce global warming.

The Pack is simply a collection of information relating to the property being sold which any prudent purchaser would require, exactly what Solicitors provide now, with the exception of the Energy Performance Certificate, but possibly at an earlier stage of the sale. In fact some of the information which is currently provided is classed as optional in the HIP rather than compulsory.

Home Information Packs should have been introduced on 1^st June but because there were insufficient assessors they were implemented on a phased basis from 1 August applying first to four bedroom properties and larger, with smaller properties being phased in as soon as sufficient energy assessors were fully qualified.

What do you need to do:

If you are selling, your Estate Agent will organise the HIP for you at a cost which is likely to be around £450 which you will either have to pay up front by credit/debit card or may be able to obtain a credit agreement allowing you to pay from the proceeds of sale.

The HIP belongs to the seller so should you decide to change Agents or withdraw your property then you will be liable to pay for the HIP.

The Estate Agent is responsible for the content of the HIP even though it is prepared by one of the HIP providers so it is important that the provider is a member of the HIP Providers Association.

Estate Agents have to be a member of the Ombudsman Scheme with HIP redress so that if there is an issue it can be referred to the Ombudsman, but no doubt if the HIP is deficient in some way the Estate Agent will be in serious discussion with the HIP Provider.

If you are buying, then the HIP contains the information you will need which, apart from the Energy Performance Certificate, is what your Solicitor would normally produce, like searches and evidence of title.

The HIP must contain certain compulsory items and may contain other optional items:

Where a document that must be included in the Pack is unavailable, the Index must say so, give the reason it is missing, and indicate what steps are being taken to obtain it.

Where documents are added to or removed from the Pack at a later stage, the Index should be revised accordingly.

Energy Performance Certificates tell you how energy efficient a home is on a scale of A-G. The most efficient homes - which should have the lowest fuel bills - are in band A. Check the criteria used to arrive at these estimates

The Certificate also tells you, on a scale of A-G, about the impact the home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

The average property in the UK is in bands D-E for both ratings. The Certificate includes recommendations on ways to improve the home's energy efficiency to save you money and help the environment.

Sellers of newly built homes will have to provide a predicted assessment of the energy efficiency of the property, but a full Energy Performance Certificate should be provided to the buyer when the home is completed.

The sale statement should provide some basic information about the site, including:

These documents prove that the seller owns the property and therefore has the right to sell it.

Where the property being sold is registered, certain documents that are available on request from the Land Registry must be included in the Pack. These provide an up-to-date official record of who owns the land, and consist of:

Official copies of the individual register (made up of a property register, proprietorship register and, typically, a charges register)

In the case of the sale of a commonhold interest, official copies of the register and title plan should be produced for both the unit and common parts. The Land Registry has details of additional requirements for sales of commonhold properties.

For sales of unregistered land, the Pack must include copies of a certificate of an official search of the index map (obtained from the Land Registry), and those documents that the seller intends to rely on to provide evidence of title to the property, and thus the right to sell it.

Most of the documents that must be included in the Home Information Pack are applicable to all transactions, but some are needed only for leasehold and commonhold sales.

Any regulations or rules that apply to the property that aren't mentioned in the lease and any proposed amendments to same

Where appropriate, the most recent requests for payment of service charges, ground rent, insurance against damage for the building in which the property is situated, and insurance in respect of personal injury caused by or within the building during the 12-month period before marketing began

The name and address of the current or proposed lessor, and details of any managing agent that has been appointed or proposed by the lessor to manage the property

A summary of any works being undertaken or proposed that will affect the property or the building in which it's situated.

An official copy of the individual register and title plan for the common parts. This is in addition to official copies for the unit (see our section on Evidence of title).

An official copy of the commonhold community statement. You can download this document from Land Registry here.

Where they are reasonably obtainable, or sellers can reasonably be expected to be aware of them, the following documents and information are also required:

Copies of any regulations or rules not described in the commonhold community statement and any amendments proposed to those regulations or to the commonhold community statement

Copies of any requests for payments made in the previous 12 months in respect of commonhold assessment, reserve fund levy and insurance (if not covered by a request for commonhold assessment)

The name and address of any managing agent or other person appointed or proposed to be appointed by the commonhold association to manage the commonhold

A Home Condition Report contains information about the physical condition of a property, which sellers, buyers and lenders will be able to rely on legally as an accurate report.

The Government believes there will be significant benefits to home sellers if they top up their Packs to include full Home Condition Reports. Communities and Local Government is working with stakeholders to facilitate the voluntary take-up of the full Report, and has invested resources in promoting and developing it for consumers.

Home Information Packs will contain some complex documents that can be difficult to understand.

The optional summary of the legal content of the pack could therefore be very helpful to buyers, although it will not remove the need for buyers to take their own legal advice as well.

Home Use and Home Contents Forms let sellers give buyers information on a range of matters relating to the property.

These include information on boundaries, notices, services, sharing with neighbours, planning permissions and other matters of interest to potential buyers.

It is usual for sellers to declare which fixtures and fittings and other contents of the property are included in the sale, are excluded from the sale, or are subject to negotiation.

Details of rights of way, ground stability and actual or potential environmental hazards such as flooding and contaminated land.

Sellers will probably be asked by their Agent to check the documents included in the pack and sign a declaration to that effect.

We will provide a printed copy of the pack for the seller and access on line to the HIP Provider so that the seller can check on the process of the pack production and its content.

All residential let property will have to have an Energy Performance Certificate by 1^st October next year.

Watch out for further legislation forcing owners to carry out improvements to their property to reduce energy usage on threat of draconian increases in Council Tax or penalising “Green” taxes.

The result will be increases in house prices and a reduction in the private rented housing stock.

The legislation for EPBD was laid in Parliament in March 2007, and will come into force in a phased manner as outlined in the table below.

The first key milestone will be when EPCs are introduced for the marketed sale of domestic homes, as part of the Home Information Pack.

1 January 2008	EPCs required on construction for all dwellings EPCs required on the sale of dwellings built to 2006 standards.
6 April 2008	EPCs required for the sale or rent of buildings other than dwellings with a floor area over 500 m² EPCs required on construction for all non-dwellings Display certificates required for all public buildings >1,000 m²
1 October 2008	EPCs required on the sale or rent of all remaining dwellings EPCs required on the sale or rent of all remaining buildings other than dwellings.
4 January 2009	First inspection of all existing air-conditioning systems over 250 kW must have occurred by this date.
4 January 2011	First inspection of all remaining air-conditioning systems over 12 kW must have occurred by this date.