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Home Information Packs must contain:

  • An index, explaining what the Home Information Pack (HIP) contains.
  • An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), written by a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA). As well as giving your home a rating, it will suggest ways in which you could improve energy efficiency.
  • A "sale statement", which will include the name of the seller and address of the property being sold. It must declare whether the property is freehold, leasehold or commonhold, and if it is registered with the Land Registry.
    • If the property is registered (which it should be if it has been bought or sold since 1975), the HIP must include official copies of the title and title plan - a small map of the site. These documents are easily obtainable from the Land Registry.
    • If the property is not registered with the Land Registry, matters are a little more complicated. First, the pack must contain a certificate of an official search of the index map - proving that the Land Registry has been searched and no title has been found. In addition, the HIP must contain a "good root of title": ideally, a conveyance document, at least 15 years old, detailing a previous sale of the property. The pack should also include any subsequent conveyance documents
  • A drainage search, detailing drains serving the property, and possibly neighbouring properties. This would normally be provided by the local water company.
  • A local search, provided by the local authority, detailing any planning applications submitted for the property and any major projects, such as new roads, which are planned within 200 metres of the property. Buyers need to be aware however that local searches exclude, for example, planning applications for extensions to neighbouring properties and, say, plans for a nuclear power station more than 200 metres away.

In addition to the above, leasehold properties will need to provide:

  • A copy of the lease.
  • Name and address of the Landlord & Managing Agents.
  • Service Charge statements over the last 36 months.
  • Financial requests made by the Landlord over the last 12 months.
  • Regulations or rules made under the lease.
  • Proposed amendments to the lease.
  • Summary of proposed building works.