If you are hoping to sell your home you need to understand recent changes to the law surrounding Home Information Packs (HIPs) if you wish to avoid unnecessary delays.

Three key changes to HIPs were introduced on the 6 April 2009 which have implications for anyone looking to put their home on the market.

Firstly, the temporary first day marketing exemption has been removed, which means that all sellers must now have a HIP available from the moment that their home is advertised for sale.

Secondly a HIP must also now include a compulsory new element, called a ‘Property Information Questionnaire’ (PIQ), which summarises key information about the property such as council tax band, parking arrangements, and details of any structural changes made. This document has to be completed by you personally without assistance (any assistance could be deemed to be a breach of the Property Mis-description Act).

Finally all personal searches included in the HIP must be complete as it will no longer be possible to use insurance to cover missing data.

These new requirements place even more responsibility on sellers to plan and organise every aspect of their sale well in advance. Selling a home has never been a smooth, straightforward task, and now it’s even more important that you fully understand everything that needs to be done before you place your property on the market.

Any good estate agent will ensure that their clients are fully aware of what to do, however a growing proportion of vendors prefer to sell property privately often through web-based outlets.

The reality is that anyone selling a home, with or without an estate agent, now needs to ensure that they are fully aware of all the steps that they are legally obliged to take. The safest way of doing so is simply to talk through the whole process with an experienced property lawyer, who should be able to assist you in providing all the information required.

For further advice call our residential conveyancing department on 01491 572138.