Say Goodbye to the Home Information Pack 21st May 2010
The new Communities Secretary, Eric Pickles, announced on Thursday that homeowners will no longer require a Home Information Pack (HIP) when selling their home, with effect from 21 May 2010. However, an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) will still be required for every sale.
The duties on the seller and any person acting on the seller’s behalf (the agent) have changed somewhat but the requirement to obtain an EPC remains. The main changes to the duties are as follows:
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The seller has a new duty to make sure that an EPC has been commissioned before marketing their home (if a valid EPC does not already exist).
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In this context, an EPC has been commissioned if a DEA has been instructed to produce it and the DEA has either been paid for the EPC or given a clear undertaking that they will be paid.
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There is a new duty on the agent to be satisfied that an EPC has been commissioned before marketing commences.
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There is also a new duty on both the seller and agent to make reasonable efforts to obtain the EPC within 28 days of first marketing and, in any event, no later than exchange of contracts
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Failure to fulfil all of these duties will carry a fixed penalty on either the seller or agent or both.
The changes have been laid before Parliament in an amendment to the Regulations – Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2010.
The demise of the HIP is no surprise, given that both Conservative and Liberal spokesmen have been trailing the move for some months, and it is encouraging that their statements on the increasing significance of the EPC have been borne out. The change to the timing – the seller needing to commission the EPC rather than actually to have one before first day marketing – should make little difference given the reality of the way the market works at the moment.
