News
On 21st May 2010 Home Information Packs (HIPS) were suspended pending formal legislation being passed to abolish them completely. The question now is how will this affect the consumer.
Although HIPs are no longer required before a property can be marketed to the public the requirement to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) has not been removed. Accordingly the certificate, which rates the energy efficiency of the property, must be produced by the Seller within 28 days of putting the property on the market. This is a change to the HIP regulations which stated HIPs had to be in place before the property could be marketed.
The average EPC costs approximately £60, depending on the provider, and the cost will be borne by the Seller, as has been with the cost of the HIPs. It is likely estate agents will provide these as many already include the EPC results in their particulars of sale. Solicitors will also have contacts with Energy Performance Assessors to organise these for their clients if requested.
With the loss of HIPs the cost of obtaining the Local Search and Water & Drainage search will revert back to the Buyer of the property. However, with the previous rules not requiring Sellers to update their HIPs many Buyers were finding they had to pay the cost of having these searches carried out again to satisfy their Lender’s requirements, as well as covering the cost of the HIP for the property they were selling. With the removal of the HIPs at least only one party to the transaction will have to cover the cost of the searches once a sale has been agreed.
This decision has understandably not been welcomed by the Association of Home Information Pack Providers who have requested a consultation with the Government to try and retain some form of legal or exchange pack that is provided at the outset in a conveyancing transaction. Accordingly there may be more changes to come as this issue is debated.
For further information please contact Sarah Mansbridge on 01752 675532 or email sarah.mansbridge@footanstey.com
Monday, 24 May 2010
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