Home Information Packs (previously called ‘Sellers' Packs’) have been in the public eye for several years now. After a number of false starts, legislation is now proceeding through Parliament which should lead to their introduction in 2007, if pilot schemes running in 2006 are successful. The Secretary of State is being given the power to abandon the scheme if it proves unworkable.

The idea behind HIPs is to simplify the conveyancing process by requiring ‘up-front’ disclosure of various things currently obtained at some expense and which take time. The most important of these are the survey and searches. HIPs will not be required for tenanted property where the lease is for less than 21 years. Also, sales of a number of properties as a block, sales of land without buildings and sales of property outside England and Wales will not be covered by the legislation.

The seller of a property will be required, on request, to provide potential purchasers with a copy of the HIP (or any document it contains) and also to ensure that any documents in the HIP that are shown or provided to a prospective purchaser are valid documents. The responsibility for the HIP will extend to the estate agent dealing with the marketing of the property and this responsibility will exist even where the estate agent does not market the property formally – for example, where he or she simply tells contacts that the property may be available for sale.

Not everyone requesting to see the HIP will have a right to see it: a request may be legitimately denied in certain circumstances. These are:

• when the person making the request is thought to have insufficient means to complete the purchase;

• when it is thought that the person requesting the information is not a genuinely interested buyer; or

• when the person making the request is not someone to whom the seller would be likely to be prepared to sell.

The vendor can impose a reasonable charge for making the HIP available and can impose restrictions on the disclosure of the documents contained in the HIP or any information in it.

For all advice regarding property purchases and sales please contact our Residential and Commercial Property Team