Professional Energy Assessors and Home Inspectors

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is a Home Information Pack (HIP)?

The Housing Act 2004 states that all homes to be put up for sale must have completed a Home Information Pack before marketing of the home commences. Home Information Packs are now required for all properties sold in England and Wales.

2. What is the content of a HIP?

The following compulsory (“required”) documents must be included in a Home Information Pack:

• Home Information Pack Index
• Energy Performance Certificate
• Sale statement
• Standard searches
• Evidence of title
• Additional information for leasehold and commonhold sales, where appropriate

Some documents in the Home Information Pack are optional (“authorised”). These include:

• Home Condition Report
• Legal summary
• Home use/contents forms
• Other documents

3. How can I get a pack?

Buyers: Ask whoever is advertising the property for sale for the Home Information Pack. This is usually an estate agent, but could be another business or individual.

If it's an estate agent, they must give you a copy of the Pack free of charge (although they may make a reasonable charge to cover the costs of copying and posting it). If the seller isn't using an estate agent, you should be able to get the Pack directly from them.

Sellers: There are a number of options –

• Use an estate agent
• Get a solicitor to do it
• Use a specialist Pack provider
• Compile it yourself. Contact UK Property Assessors for free guidance on how to do this.
• Enlist the help of other businesses, such as financial advisers

4. What is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a key part of a Home Information Pack. The certificates are commissioned by the seller (or their agent) from an accredited Energy Assessor, who visits the property to carry out an energy survey and uses relevant data to create the certificate. Click here (Energy Performance Certificate) for further details.

5. What is the purpose of an Energy Performance Certificate?

The purpose of an EPC is to record how energy-efficient a property is as a building. The certificate will provide a rating of the property from A to G, where A is very efficient and G is very inefficient.

Two ratings are shown. The environmental impact rating is a measure of a home's impact on the environment in terms of carbon dioxide (C02) emissions - the higher the rating, the less impact it has on the environment. The energy-efficiency rating is a measure of a home's overall efficiency. The higher the rating, the more energy-efficient the home is, and the lower the fuel bills are likely to be.

Each rating is based on the performance of the building itself and its services (such as heating and lighting), rather than the domestic appliances within it. This is known as an asset rating. The certificate also lists the potential rating of the building if all the recommended cost- effective measures were installed.

© UK Property Assessors 2008

Designed by tharlaweb