Frequently Asked Questions

A Home Information Pack is a set of documents that are now required when houses are bought and sold.

These must include:

• An Index (ie a list of the contents of the HIP)
• An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
• A Sale Statement (summarising the terms of the sale)
• Evidence of Title (who owns the property and any restrictions on use)
• Standard Searches (eg local authority enquiries and a drainage & water search)
• The Lease (if applicable) and other leasehold information (from 01.01.09)

The HIP documents provide important information about a property such as boundary ownership, planning permissions and its energy efficiency. With the exception of the EPC these documents would previously have been obtained at a much later stage, but the HIP ensures that this information is available as soon as the house is marketed, which is intended to speed up and simplify the completion of a house sale and avoid any last minute offer withdrawals or delays.

Do all residential properties need a Home Information Pack?

The majority of homes being sold on the open market now require a HIP. There are a few exceptions for properties with mixed commercial use, homes being sold with a sitting tenant or homes with restricted use or occupancy. We can advise you on this, please give us a call.

What is an Energy Performance Certificate?

The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a report that measures how efficiently a home is heated and how well it retains heat, rating its energy, efficiency and carbon emmissions from A to G on a graph - like those used to rate fridges and washing machines.

The EPC can only be prepared by a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA) or a Home Inspector (HI), who is registered with a Government approved Accreditation Scheme. All our assessors are fully qualified local property professionals and they will contact you directly to arrange a convenient daytime appointment to visit your home and carry out the assessment. The appointment can take up to an hour depending on the property.

The Energy Assessor will take measurements of the property and will need to look at various elements that affect its energy efficiency. He will require access to the roofspace, in order to assess the extent of insulation, and will need to examine the heating system to assess its efficiency. This will include gaining access to the boiler, heating controls and hot water cylinder, where fitted. In addition, he will examine all other areas that are relevant, such as the extent and age of any double glazing, whether cavity wall insulation has been (or could be) installed and the extent to which low-energy light bulbs are present. If you have any evidence in the form of certificates or receipts, to demonstrate that cavity wall insulation has been installed or replacement windows fitted for example, it is useful to show this to the DEA.

What about the other documents in the Home Information Pack?

We obtain most other documents that are required within the Home Information Pack from the Government's Land Registry database, from your Local Authority and also from the Water and Drainage Company that covers your area. In addition, we compile the Sale Statement and Index on your behalf. Once we have received all the documents, we assemble them into the Home Information Pack. Click here for an example of a completed Home Information Pack.

What is the advantage of buying my Home Information Pack from HertsDEA Ltd. ? 

HertsDEA Ltd. are Home Information Pack specialists. We produce HIPs for a number of Estate Agents and Solicitors as well as directly for Property Vendors. Our HIPs are fully insured for up to £2m each in the unlikely event that there should ever be a problem. Importantly, we also subscribe to The HIP Code which gives you the reassurance of knowing that we comply with Government and Industry standards for HIP compilation.

By buying your HIP directly from HertsDEA Ltd. you are also secure in the knowledge that the HIP belongs to you. It is completely portable and should you decide to change Estate Agents you do not need to buy a new HIP.

Why is it cheaper to buy a HIP from you rather than ask my Estate Agent to arrange it?

Because of the number of HIPs that we produce, we are able to negotiate reduced national prices with the companies and organisations that provide a number of the documents required within the Home Information Pack.

Also, many Estate Agents will take a commission from the Home Information Pack provider when they introduce you to them. By buying directly from us, we can therefore pass on the cost savings that we achieve through our volumes and also the saving that we make in not having to pay commission to an Estate Agent.

If I buy a HIP from you, is it any different to one that my Estate Agent can arrange?

Only in price! A Home Information Pack for your property should contain exactly the same information, regardless of who provides it.

But one Estate Agent implied that I could only use their HIP?

The Government has stated:

"Any Estate Agent has a duty to ensure that they are complying with HIP duties. There is no reason why an Agent cannot rely on a HIP provided by the House Seller, a different Estate Agent or a HIP Provider other than the one they would normally use, as long as they are content that it is compliant. Further information can be found on the website: http://www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk.

Some Estate Agents may try and offer their own in-house HIP, or they will often have a financial agreement with a national HIP Provider to offer theirs, but any HIP that meets the regulations is perfectly legal and acceptable. As subscribers to the HIP Code and with insurance cover in place of up to £2 million per HIP, you can be absolutely confident that a Home Information Pack supplied by HertsDEA Ltd. meets all the necessary regulations and guidelines.

My Estate Agent has offered me a free HIP!

These offers are rarely, if ever, what they pretend to be!

The HIP has to be paid for at some stage – it consists of a variety of documents that have to be bought from the Land Registry, Local Authority etc, as well as an Energy Survey that is performed by a qualified energy surveyor who needs to earn a living! An Estate Agent offering a ‘free’ HIP will usually recoup the cost (and often more) by increasing his sales commission. An extra ¼% sales commission on a £200,000 house means an additional £500 on the Agents fee – considerably in excess of the cost of a HIP from HertsDEA Ltd. .

In addition, Agents will often only provide a ‘free’ HIP on condition that you agree to keep the house with them for a certain period of time. Many will then charge you for the HIP if you want to change Agents anyway. A HIP from HertsDEA Ltd. means that you can change Agents whenever you wish, safe in the knowledge that they cannot tie you in for any period of time. Remember, your HIP is completely portable between Estate Agents.

Do I need to consider any other factors when deciding who to use for my HIP?

It is important to remember that the Home Information Pack is a legal document. You should therefore be confident that the company you choose to provide the Pack is both competent and properly insured.

Can you supply a HIP for anywhere in the country?

Yes – we provide a national service.

Are there any additional costs that I need to pay?

No – our charges are exactly as detailed on the Order Form.

Why does a HIP for a Leasehold property cost more than one for a Freehold property?

For a HIP for a leasehold property to be fully compliant, it should contain a copy of the lease. This is generally obtainable from the Land Registry at an extra charge. We therefore have to reflect this additional cost in our fees. Some HIP Providers will place the onus upon you or your Solicitor to provide the lease and do not therefore include it within their fees. A Solicitor will generally charge rather more for this service and you should be aware that the HIP is NOT compliant without the lease. Your Solicitor will need to provide it at some stage during the conveyancing process anyway, so it is far better to obtain it at the start, include it in the HIP and save the higher cost that the Solicitor will charge later on. Of course, you can also therefore be sure that your HIP is completely compliant and legal from Day One.

How do I check whether my house is Freehold or Leasehold?

The simple way is to visit www.landregisteronline.gov.uk and enter your postcode and house number. Most properties are registered at The Land Registry and the site will reveal whether the tenure is Freehold only or whether there is a Freehold and a Leasehold title. If there is a Leasehold title, we need to include this in the Home Information Pack, so please be sure to select the Leasehold option when completing your Order Form.

What if the Land Registry search shows 'no information available' for my house?

This means that your property is probably not registered at the Land Registry. Typically, this is the case if you have lived there for around 30 years or more, prior to the computerisation of the Land Registry in 1974.

For properties that are not registered at the Land Registry, the Home Information Pack Regulations require that 'Evidence of Title' is provided within the HIP. We can still produce the HIP for you but you will need to speak to a Solicitor and ask him to prepare an Epitome of Title. Many Solicitors will do this free of charge or for a nominal fee if you undertake to use them for the conveyance. We will then include the Epitome at no extra charge once it is available.

What is the ordering process for a Home Information Pack from HertsDEA Ltd. ?

You can order a HIP using our online Order Form. We accept payment by credit or debit card through our secure payment portal using Google Checkout. Alternatively, you can print off the form and send it to us with your cheque, or you can telephone us on 01727 825212 and we will assist you with your order.

What happens next?

As soon as we receive your order, we send you an e-mail on our letterhead confirming that you have commissioned a Home Information Pack for your property. You can print this off, or forward it to your Estate Agent, as evidence that a HIP has been ordered. He is then legally able to start marketing the property.

We begin to assemble the documents required within the HIP immediately and one of our Domestic Energy Assessors will contact you within 48 hours to arrange a mutually convenient time to visit to perform the Energy Survey.

When you place your order, we ask you to create a User Name and Password. This enables you to log onto our site where you can track the progress of the HIP and see and download the documents as they are being compiled.

Once we have received back all the necessary documents and searches to be included within the Home Information Pack, we amalgamate them into a single document and e-mail this to you. This is generally within 7 working days of receiving your initial instruction. Occasionally, this can take a few days longer, depending upon how quickly your particular Local Authority responds to search requests.

If you have opted to receive a printed copy, as well as the electronic copy of the HIP, we then order this from our printers. You will receive this within a further 7 days. There may be a small charge for this to cover costs.

At this point we suggest that you forward a copy of the HIP to your Estate Agents and also to your Solicitor, if you have already appointed one to handle the sale.

If, at any stage, you accidentally delete or lose your HIP, simply call us and we will resend it by email straight away. Alternatively, simply log back on to the site and download the HIP again.

Is that all there is to it?

Yes – that's it. Remember, if at any stage you have a query, simply drop us an e-mail, or call us on 01582 792523, and we will be very happy to help. We realise that the Home Information Pack Regulations, being newly introduced, are still something of a mystery to many people. HertsDEA Ltd. are here to help you through the process.