Q.I am selling my house and have ordered a Home Information Pack (HIP) as I was told I must have one before selling. I now hear HIPS have been suspended. What should I do?
A. HIPs were introduced in 2007 with the aim of speeding up the house buying process. However, they were badly designed from the outset and consequently had very little (if any) positive impact upon the house buying process. The view of most property professionals was that the cost of a HIP (which is paid for by a seller and can range from £200 to £500) was simply not justified given its lack of value to a buyer.
Therefore the new government has therefore decided to suspend the requirement to obtain a HIP with effect from last Friday (midnight on 20 th May 2010). There is, therefore, no longer a duty upon estate agents to provide a HIP to potential buyers and you should contact your HIP provider ASAP to see if it can be cancelled. If you are too late and the HIP is in the process of being prepared then you might as well supply it to any future potential buyer, as there is nothing to prevent sellers supplying a HIP voluntarily.
Q.Will I still need to provide an Energy Performance Certificate?
A. Yes. The obligation to have an EPC (which rates the energy efficiency of a property) is a requirement of EU law and so will remain. However, it is now only necessary to have commissioned an EPC, as opposed to actually being in receipt of one, before marketing a property. Estate agents cannot start marketing until they are satisfied that an EPC is available or has been commissioned and there is a fixed penalty of £200 for breach of these regulations. However, following the suspension of HIPs, the government has extended the lifespan of EPC's from 3 years to 10 years, which means that they can be re-used in subsequent sales of a property during that period.
For specialist legal advice contact Keith Swan of Patterson, Glenton & Stracey Solicitors by email at ks@pgslaw.co.uk or by telephone on 0808 231 7043. Patterson, Glenton & Stracey Solicitors have provided legal advice to the people of South Tyneside for over 125 years. For details of their full range of services and to view previous Gazette articles please log on to www.pgslaw.co.uk . Patterson, Glenton & Stracey Solicitor - the Logical Answer .
