Home Information Packs - Optimum Finance Group Limited

From 1 August 2007, Home Information Packs will be compulsory for four bedroom properties and larger. Packs will be extended to smaller properties as soon as sufficient energy assessors are fully qualified.

If you're a buyer, you should ask for a Home Information Pack, which contains an Energy Performance Certificate.

Energy Performance Certificates and your home

An Energy Performance Certificate is 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 collect the relevant data and creates the certificate. This data includes the date, construction and location of the house and relevant fittings (heating systems, insulation or double glazing, for example).

If you're a seller, you need to make sure you have commissioned a Pack by the time that you market your property.

What's in a Home Information Pack?

The Home Information Pack contains important information that buyers and sellers need to know. Home Information Packs including Energy Performance Certificates will be implemented on a phased basis from 1 August. From then Packs will be required for the sale of four bedroom properties and larger, with smaller properties being phased in as soon as sufficient energy assessors are fully qualified.

For sellers, providing a Pack upfront should reduce the likelihood of any nasty surprises in the selling process that could delay the sale, as buyers will be able to make more informed decisions about purchasing their home.

For buyers, the Pack provides essential information about properties they are considering buying, free of charge.

What do I need to do as a Seller?

The person responsible for marketing a property (in most cases, the estate agent) must have commissioned a Home Information Pack by the time that the property is on the market. As soon as you have received the Energy Performance Certificate (a compulsory part of the Pack), you must provide potential buyers with a copy of the Pack, or any document from it on request and within the 'permitted period'.

The 'permitted period' is either 14 days following the request for copies, or, if later, the day on which a payment for copies is received.

Note: The ability to market without a Pack will only last until 31 December 2007.

What do I need to do as a Buyer?

You should ask to see a Home Information Pack whenever you are interested in buying a property. The seller must have commissioned a Pack by the time a property is put on the market.

Your Pack must contain:

• An Energy Performance Certificate
• An Index of contents
• A sale statement (summarising terms of sale)
• Evidence of title
• Searches
• Leasehold or commonhold documents where appropriate.

The Index should explain the reason why any of the required documents are missing.

The Pack can also include other information that would be of interest to buyers - for example, a Home Condition Report, other searches, and any guarantees and warranties on the property.