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Our Full HIP FAQ. We hope you will find this FAQ informative. Please select one of the following topics relating to Home Information Packs (HIPs);
Can I trust the information in this FAQ?
Full HIP is an ethical, professional company. All information provided in this FAQ has been fully researched and is believed to be factual and without prejudice. If you disagree please contact us by e-mail or fill in our contact enquiry form.
I you have a question which you feel should have been included in this FAQ please let us know. We will give you an answer and consider it for inclusion in the list.
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What is a Home Information Pack
Please look at the extensive information in the About HIPs section of this website.
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Do I need to have a HIP?
Almost certainly yes. From the 14th December, 2007 almost all residential properties will require to have ordered a HIP prior to putting the property on the market for sale. After June 1st, 2008 all properties will have to have taken receipt of a HIP before the property can be put up for sale. The full list of HIP exceptions are listed here.
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What happens if I don’t get a HIP?
Many people think that the maximum fine is £200. This is not true. The initial fine is £200 but if the property remains on the market further fines will be imposed. There is provision to increase the initial fine to £500. If an Estate Agent is acting for the seller and does not arrange a HIP then they could ultimately be the subject of a Banning Order which would prevent them from continuing to trade.
Here is an extract from the regulations;
“Regulation 35 sets the penalty charge initially at £200. It should be noted that payment of this penalty charge does not entitle the person to continue marketing the property in breach of the home information pack duties. To do so could render that person liable to further penalty charge notices. If the person is an estate agent, it also amounts to an “undesirable practice” for the purposes of section 3(1)(d) of the Estate Agents Act 1979, and would render them liable to action by the Office of Fair Trading. This could result in a banning order which would prevent them from continuing to trade (see section 175 of the 2004 Act).”
The above is taken from “THE HOME INFORMATION PACK REGULATIONS 2007:
PROCEDURAL GUIDANCE”. The full document is available at http://www.homeinformationpack.gov.uk.
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What was wrong with the ‘Old’ system in place prior to 1st August 2007?
Most buyers and sellers are very dissatisfied with the current system for house buying and selling. The introduction of HIPs and the other parts of the Housing Act 2004 were introduced precisely to start the process of radically overhauling the conveyancing process and bring the legislation into the 21st century.
The Risk Assessment section of the Communities and Local Government (CLG) document entitled “Home Information Packs” gives some details of the findings of research carried out in 1998;
- 28% of offers made and accepted to purchase houses failed (this extrapolates to 583,000 failed transactions per year, based on 1.5 million successful transactions in 2002)
- a typical failed transaction cost about £900 (£680 for Buyers and £226 for Sellers). This was mainly Conveyancing costs, mortgage valuation and survey fees. This had increased to £1000 by 2002. This does not include additional and abortive costs by Marketing & Estate Agents.
- It took an average of 8 weeks from offer acceptance to exchange of contracts. This is slow by international standards.
So to answer the question, “What was wrong with the Old system”;
- key information available too late in the process.
- the Government considers a 28% transaction failure too high resulting in a high overall unnecessary expenditure by buyers and sellers.
- the transaction period is too long and getting worse. This appears to be confirmed by a more recent survey by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) and Ipsos MORI where the average transaction period was found to have increased to 81 days.
- Also from the BRE/MORI study; the average (mean) transaction time from marketing to completion was a staggering 6½ months. 9 months was and is not uncommon.
- too much time wasted in carrying out duplicated searches and surveys (paid for by the buyer)
- voluntary schemes to improve matters have failed.
- system was largely unchanged since the Law of Property Act 1925. The relatively recent explosion of the Internet has radically changed the methods of information exchange and how many business transactions are carried out. The Property transaction businesses were unable to take best advantage of these new systems.
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How much does a HIP cost?
Fortunately the reports in the press regarding the cost of a HIP are grossly exaggerated (up to £1000 has been reported). A basic HIP will cost upwards of £340 (including VAT). You may find some HIP providers charging a lot less than this. One way of achieving this is to pay Domestic Energy Assessors a very low amount for their services. You need to make up your own mind what the implications of this are and if this is important to you. As stated many times on this website; Full HIP will only use Home Inspectors (or DEAs in training to be a HI) to inspect your home as we believe that the additional training and experience of Home Inspectors will ensure the most accurate EPC certificates for your property.
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What happens after I place my order for a HIP?
After payment method has been confirmed your HIP will be processed immediately. The relevant searches will be ordered and a Home Inspector will be assigned to inspect and assess your property. The Inspector will contact you within 24 hours to arrange a convenient time to conduct the Energy Performance Certificate assessment and, if the optional HCR has been ordered, the Home Condition inspection.
The appointment will be confirmed in writing and we will send you some optional forms which can be included in your HIP if you so wish (Full HIP recommends that you complete these forms, which do not incur any additional cost). Once all the information has been sent back to us, an electronic version of the HIP is produced. We will then e-mail you a copy and arrange for the printed copies to be produced. You should receive your hard copies by courier, next day. We will send the CD version in the post and this should also reach you next day.
Your HIP will be viewable on line by all your prospective buyers and more hard or electronic copies can be requested as required.
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My house is Grade II Listed and/or has a Thatched roof. How does this affect the HIP?
It has no affect on the requirement for a basic HIP. You still need to arrange a HIP when you start selling the house. If you choose to have a Home Condition Report then, depending on age and type of construction, the Home Inspector may have to have additional specialist knowledge in order to carry out the Inspection. Full HIP will ensure that the Home Inspector has the appropriate knowledge for the house being inspected.
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What options do I have regarding where I can get a HIP from?
You will find the answer here.
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How long is a HIP valid?
Legally a HIP remains valid for as long as the property remains on the Market. In practice the validity is determined by the date of the searches. It is unlikely that a Mortgage lender or Solicitor will accept searches in a HIP which are more than 6 months old. If you find yourself in this situation we may be able to provide up to date searches free of charge. In addition, the Energy Performance Certificate is currently valid for 1 year, although this is under review by the Government. There is a more detailed answer in our Free HIP Guide available by contacting us.
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Can you supply the contents of a HIP separately?
Yes. We can supply any part of a HIP individually. Please contact us for prices and lead times.
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Do you need to know the Market Sale price of my house?
Definitely not. None of our forms ask for this information. If you are asked for this information by a Pack Provider you need to consider why?
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How can I get a Home Information Pack for a house I am interested in buying?
Potential buyers have a right to a copy of the Pack and this should be provided within 14 days of a request. Sellers (or their marketing agent) are entitled to make a reasonable charge to cover copying and postage costs. This may be provided electronically on-line or as a PDF file on a CD or pen drive, or as a printed hard copy.
If you believe that you are being denied a copy of the pack unlawfully, local authority trading standards officers are responsible for enforcement of these duties.
Note however, the seller or agent can refuse to provide a copy in certain limited cases. These are;
- where the seller believes that the person making the request can not afford the property
- is not really interested in buying the property
- is not a person to whom the seller would wish to sell the property (but this does not allow them to unlawfully discriminate against someone).
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What is the difference between the Home Condition Report (HCR) and a Chartered Surveyor’s Home Buyer’s Survey.
- The Home Inspection Report carried out by a Home Inspector is paid for and commissioned on behalf of the seller. This is paid for once, by the seller or agent.
- The traditional ‘Home Buyer’ survey, carried out by a Chartered Surveyor, is normally carried out on behalf of a prospective buyer. It is possible for more than one survey to be carried out on the same property, paid for by more than 1 prospective buyer.
- A Home Condition report is about £200 cheaper than a Homebuyer survey although prices do vary. (In practice there is no reason why a Buyer cannot commission a Home Condition Report for a property under consideration where the HIP does not contain a HCR although this is not what the Government intended. Full HIP would accept such a commission.)
- A Home buyer survey includes a Sale Valuation. The HCR includes a rebuild cost for insurance purposes. Many Home Inspectors are undertaking additional training to provide a Sale Valuation.
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If I have both an EPC and a Home Condition Report do I need two inspection visits?
Most certainly not. Both the HCR and EPC inspection will be carried out during a single visit by our Home Inspector.
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How long do energy assessments and Home Condition Report inspections take?
The actual amount of time taken to assess or inspect a house is dependent on the condition and size of the property. An energy assessment is the simplest to do and takes about 1/3 to 1/2 the time of a Home Condition Inspection. Typical duration’s for a 3 or 4 bedroom house would be about 3/4hr for an energy assessment and 2 or more hours for a Home Condition inspection.
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Can a home owner compile their own HIP?
It is legal for a home owner to do their own HIP. It is certainly possible for someone who is familiar with the property market to organise their own HIP however, we recommend that the best option, for most people, is to let a professional such as Full HIP do it for you. OK, I hear you say ‘but you would say that, wouldn’t you’ but consider this;
- you will need to find a Home Inspector or Domestic Energy Assessor to carry out the EPC (and a Home Inspector to compile the optional home Condition Report if you choose to include it). All Home Inspectors acting for Full HIP have to undergo a rigourous selection process before we will send them to your home.
- you will need to provide ‘Evidence of Title’. Every property has a different ‘legal title’. Some may be registered and others may be unregistered.
- you will order a ‘Personal’ search on line or initiate a ‘Local’ search (see or FAQ item)
- you will need to obtain a ‘Drainage & Water’ Report
- you will need to compile the other parts of the pack yourself
- If applicable, include a New Homes Warranty i.e. NHBC or Zurich (if property still has benefit of this)
- if the property is leasehold you will need to provide additional information
- if the property is commonhold you will need to provide additional information
- Do you have the time? We can usually provide a complete pack within 5 days when required. It is likely to take considerably longer for you to compile your own Pack.
- There are also legal financial implications. What if, by mistake or otherwise, the information contained in the HIP is incorrect and a Buyer makes a legal challenge after buying the property? Home inspectors, Pack Providers and search companies are covered by Indemnity insurance in the event of a successful claim against them. You will need to consider this situation.
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My home is leasehold. Do I need a HIP?
Yes, unless the lease has less than 21 years to run
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What is the difference between a ‘Personal’ Search generally and a ‘Local’ Search?
When a local authority is asked to undertake a ‘Local’ search, it uses a Form Con 29 that asks a range of questions about the property and the immediate surrounding area.
‘Personal’ searches are generally done electronically. By making an inspection of both the public information available and other data held by third parties (like the Highways Agency), personal search companies are able to provide the same information. A large difference between an official Local and personal is often the costs and durations involved.
Personal searches will always be cheaper than a ‘Local’ and for the majority of the time will be quicker to obtain.
We can provide a ‘Local’ search for inclusion in your HIP for an extra charge. We are unlikely to be able to provide this within 5 working days (but we will try).
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What is a Home Condition Report?
An official, legally recognised report, produced by a Home Inspector after making an objective visual examination of the physical structure and systems of a house, from the roof to the foundation. It is non-invasive which means there is no physical damage of any kind to the property. The inspector will also make enquiries about radon, flooding, mining subsidence risk, etc.
The Home Inspection Report is an authorised voluntary component of a Home Information Pack and can only be compiled by a professionally qualified and accredited Home Inspector.
For more information see our dedicated section on the Home Condition Report.
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Is it worth paying the extra money to have a Home Condition Report in a HIP?
Consider this. A prospective buyer requests the HIPs for two similar properties. One contains a Home Condition Report, the other doesn’t. The HIP for the first property indicates that there are no defects. You need to consider how a buyer might be influenced by this.
It makes sense to reduce the risk of delays, last minute withdrawal, or attempts to re-negotiate the price, due to factors arising out of the condition of the property. Sellers will be one step ahead with a cost effective selling advantage if an HCR inspection is done at the same time as the mandatory energy performance certificate inspection.
A Home Condition Report can give you the opportunity to make repairs that will put the house in a better selling condition. The security and knowledge gained from a Home Condition Report is well worth the cost.
If not planning to sell your house a Home Inspector can identify problems in the making and suggest preventive measures that might help you avoid costly future repairs.
If you do not need to sell quickly please see our Pre-Market Inspection Service.
If your house is relatively new an HCR may not be required unless you know of, or suspect a problem which is likely to be identified if a buyer commissions a survey (due to a Home Condition Report not being contained within the HIP) However, in times when we are in a ‘buyers market’ you still need to consider the affect if the HIP for a similar property does contain an HCR .
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Why should a Buyer prefer a HIP to contain a Home Condition Report.
Buying a home could be the largest single investment you will ever make. To minimise unpleasant surprises and unexpected difficulties, you’ll want to learn as much as you can about the newly constructed or existing house before you buy it. A Home Condition Report may identify the need for major repairs or builder oversights, as well as the need for maintenance to keep it in good shape. After the inspection, you will know more about the house, which will allow you to make decisions with confidence.
If the HIP does not contain a HCR then you, the buyer, will often have the additional expense of commissioning either a Home Inspection Report yourself or a Chartered Surveyors Homebuyer survey (your lender or solicitor will advise you as required).
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How much does a Home Condition Report cost?
The inspection fee for a typical one-family house varies geographically, as does the cost of housing. Similarly, within a given area, the inspection fee may vary depending on a number of factors such as the size of the house and its age.
The cost is also dependant on whither you are ordering a HIP at the same time. It is cheaper to incorporate an HCR in a HIP than to provide it as a stand alone service. The lowest-priced inspection is not necessarily a bargain.
Relevant to this question is our Pre-Market Inspection service.
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Can a house fail an EPC or HCR home inspection?
No for both types. A professional EPC or HCR inspection is an examination of the current energy efficiency, effect on the environment and, for an HCR the condition of a house. The house will therefor not pass or fail. The HCR describes its physical condition and indicates what components and systems may need repair or replacement.
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Do I have to be there while EPC or HCR inspections are being carried out?
If you are a seller, it is not a legal requirement that you must be present however it is highly recommended that you are. In addition to security and heath & safety issues the Inspector will ask you for some information.
If you are an agent then we will always request that the seller or another ‘responsible person’ is present. When this is not possible special arrangements can be made.
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What if the Home Condition Report reveals problems?
No house is perfect.
For the seller. If the Inspector identifies problems, it doesn’t mean you should or shouldn’t sell your house. If major problems are found, you may decide to make repairs before putting it on the market for sale. Relevant to this is our Pre-Market Inspection Service.
Similarly if you are a buyer. It doesn’t mean you should or shouldn’t buy the house. You will know in advance what to expect. If your budget is tight, or if you don’t want to become involved in future repair work, this information will be important to you.
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If the house proves to be in good condition, did I really need a Home Condition Report?
Definitely. Now you can rest assured that a prospective Buyer is more likely to buy your house than that of another where the HIP either does not contain an HCR or if it does, it reveals some defects.
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Are you prepared to accept work involving properties outside your stated area?
Yes, within reason.
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Why do we use the term ‘Seller” rather than ‘Vendor’
When the 2004 Housing Act was written by the Government it was deliberately written using ‘plain English’ rather than ‘legalese’. In the act the term ‘Seller’ is used rather than ‘vendor’.
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