Suspension of home Information Packs - David Wachtel, Chebsey & Co

HIPs suspension

With immediate effect, sellers and estate agents are no longer required to have or to provide copies of HIPs. However, there will be a new duty on both the seller and estate agents to be satisfied that an Energy Performance Certificate has been commissioned before commencing marketing, which they must make reasonable efforts to secure within 28 days, failing which a fixed penalty of £200 is payable. Energy Performance Certificates will be valid for 10 years.

This will mean, in future, that buyers will have to commission their own searches and incur those charges.

While this is great news for sellers, it highlights the importance for sellers of providing their solicitors with the relevant information that can ensure a smooth transaction. In particular, they need to provide their solicitor with estimates, reports and guarantees for treatment of woodworm and/or damp course, FENSA certificates for replacement windows, annual service reports for heating, compliance certificates for electrical works and Planning Consents and Building Regulation Approvals for alterations made to the property. Often, these documents are lost because they are not retained in one place, or because over the years they have been mislaid. It is useful if replies to enquiries raised by the solicitors acting at the time of the client’s purchase are also retained with these other documents and handed to the solicitor acting on the sale.

On the sale of flats, it is extremely useful for the solicitor to be provided with details of the Managing Agents so that an Information Pack can be obtained from the agents that will satisfy a large number of the enquiries raised by the solicitors acting for the buyer. The person selling should also make their solicitor aware if they have had to pay an excess payment in any year representing a shortfall on their regular service charge payments.

Parking is often a contentious area and it is always worthwhile making it clear to the solicitor acting on the sale what parking arrangements exist for the property being sold.

Finally, do not forget to mention to your solicitor the number of mortgages that are secured on the property as it is often easy to overlook an existing small loan which may have been obtained from an existing lender.

By following these few simple steps, you can get your sale off to a flying start and avoid a delayed exchange of contracts.

David Wachtel

David Wachtel is a Solicitor at Chebsey & Co and can be contacted at 165 New Road, Croxley Gree, Rickmansworth WD3 3HB