Member of

FAQs

• A sale statement (summarising terms of sale)
• Evidence of title
• Standard searches (i.e. local authority enquiries and a drainage and water search)
• An Energy Performance Certificate
• Where appropriate, commonhold information (including a copy of the commonhold community statement)
• Where appropriate, leasehold information (including a copy of the lease, information on service charges and insurance)
• Where appropriate, a New Homes Warranty
• Where appropriate, a report on a home that is not physically complete

• A Home Condition Report*
• Guarantees and warranties
• Other searches.

• The regulations will be amended so that from 1st August 2007 the Home Condition Report will be an authorised part of the Pack.
  
  Sellers can top up their Packs voluntarily to include full Home Condition Reports; these reports are based on a professional survey of the property and will be authorised documents. Sellers offering full Home Condition Reports will be more likely to benefit from swifter sales and suffer fewer transaction failures, as accepted offers are much less likely to be re-opened as a result of new information coming to light. The Government is working with stakeholders to facilitate the take-up of the full Home Condition Report.
  
  Do you have to wait for all Home Information Pack components to be assembled before the property is marketed?
  A home must be marketed with a Pack at the time the property is put up for sale. Providing reasonable attempts have been taken, in certain circumstances the property can be marketed with an incomplete Pack – this is defined in regulations. As part of the Dry-run, however, we will be testing various options, including allowing marketing to begin if sellers have already commissioned their Pack, rather than having to wait up to 14 days.
  
  How long will the complete Pack be valid for?
  The Home Information Pack is valid while the home is continuously marketed for sale, and the Regulations allow for a period where the property might be taken off the market while, for example it is under offer or to allow a seller to change agents.
  
  The main time-sensitive items in the Home Information Pack are the local searches. These are generally acknowledged to be valid for six months.
  
  The majority of sales complete within six months under the current process and we expect the Home Information Pack to shorten the time between offer acceptance and exchange of contracts.
  
  Are Home Information Packs needed at auctions?
  Yes. People buying at auction need reliable information just as much as anyone else.
  
  Is there an impact for Right to Buy (RTB) properties? Who would have responsibility for it?
  RTB properties are excluded from Home Information Pack legislation as the property is not being openly marketed. However, the Department for Communities and Local Government is examining the scope for adopting Home Information Pack principles for such sales and thereby providing reassurance to people exercising their Right to Buy.
  
  Are there shared ownership implications?
  A shared ownership property marketed for sale would require a Home Information Pack.
  
  Liability? Is it the provider who is liable?
  The competent provider is liable for any misinformation within the pack. For example, search provider for searches, Home Inspectors for Home Condition Reports, seller for property information form, etc.
  
  There’s no legal opinion within the Home Information Pack?
  There is no requirement or authorisation to include in the pack a legal assessment of the pack contents, so this isn’t something that could be included in the Pack, but there’s nothing to prevent such assessments being provided alongside it.
  
  Once a Home Information Pack is produced, who has the responsibility for ‘policing’ the expiry dates, and reproducing the expired components? Also, at what point after sale agreed would any of the components have to be reproduced, e.g. if expired 1 week before sale completes?
  None of the Home Information Pack components will have an expiry date.
  
  We need to know the Home Information Pack delivery will not default to hard paper copies as with 1.8 million Home Information Packs per annum, and only a single copy on paper some 225 million pages will be used, c. 2000 trees.
  It is up to Home Information Pack providers to determine the best way of providing their product to the customer. The legislation provides for Home Information Packs to be entirely electronic, except when a buyer requests a paper copy.
  
  What are the Home Information Pack requirements for new conversions i.e. barns or a house that was converted into flats?
  If individual properties are being marketed then they do require a Home Information Pack - the converted barn therefore does, and so do individual flats. There is an exception for portfolios of properties, so if all the flats were being sold as a package, then no Pack would be required. Exceptions to the duties are set out in the Regulations.