The Government is introducing hips or Home Information Packs to improve the process of buying and selling a home. 

Currently this is a stressful and costly experience which is prone to delay and failure. From 1 June 2007 all home owners in England and Wales will need to arrange for hips to be prepared before putting their homes up for sale.

Hips will bring together all the information people need to buy and sell a home, to help them make informed decisions about what is probably the most expensive purchase of their lives.  The hips will especially help first time buyers as they receive the packs for free.

Under Part V of the Housing Act 2004, from 2007 home-owners or their selling agents will be required to have a hips when marketing homes for sale, and to make a copy of the hips available to prospective buyers on request. It will also require estate agents, marketing homes for sale, to belong to an approved redress scheme.

Extensive research has shown that the current system is inefficient and wasteful and does not look after the best interests of buyers or sellers. Delays in the present system encourage gazumping and other problems. Providing key information up front in the hips will make the process more efficient, clearer and easier for consumers.

Introducing the hips is a key part of a package of measures to reform the home buying and selling process. Legislation to introduce the hips was first introduced in the Homes Bill on 12 December 2000.

The hips is likely to include the following:

• Terms of sale;
• Evidence of title;
• Replies to standard preliminary enquiries made on behalf of buyers;
• Copies of any planning, listed building and building regulations consents and approvals;
• For new properties, copies of warranties and guarantees;
• Any guarantees for work carried out on the property;
• Replies to local searches; and
• A home condition report based on a professional survey of the property, including an energy efficiency assessment.

The key benefits of hips are:

• Hips will cut failed transactions currently costing consumers £1m per day in wasted costs
• Hips will cost £600 - £700 on average but this is not all new costs. Most of the items in the pack have to be provided at some stage under the present process
• The only new item in the Hips will be the Home Condition Report, and this will have to be provided by a qualified Home Inspector
• Some costs will be shifted from buyer to seller
• Hips will help make the process more affordable for first time buyers since they will receive this information without having to commission it or pay for it