The Government has recently made further changes to the Home Information Pack Regulations. With effect from 6 April the following changes will come into effect:
1. All HIPs must include a Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) which will provide some basic information about the property.
2. In relation to leasehold properties, the PIQ will include a summary of things such as rent and service charge and as a result the requirement to include certain leasehold documents in the HIP (such as service charge accounts) which had previously been delayed has now been dropped.
3. All information required to be included in the HIP must be available from the point of first marketing. This change removes the concession previously made by the Government which allowed a property to be marketed provided the elements of the HIP had been ordered and were expected within 28 days.
Properties which were first marketed before the HIP regulations came into effect will still not require a HIP although they do now require an Energy Perfomance Certificate. The HIP regulations were brought in progressively for different sizes of previously-owned property during 2007 and for new homes in April 2008.
Steven Petty, Commercial Property Solicitor
This blog is not intended to constitute legal advice, nor is it intended to be a complete and authoritative statement of the law, and what we say might be out of date by the time you read it. You should always seek legal advice to confirm whether or how any information in this article applies to your particular situation. We offer a free telephone consultation to discuss your particular circumstances.