If your relocatees are buying or selling a home from 1 June 2007, they will need to know what’s involved. Below are the basic details from the Government website – for full details, see www.homeinformationpacks.gov.uk.

Sellers: need to have a Pack before you/they put your/their home onto the market

Buyers: the Pack will offer essential information about the property they wish to buy, for free.

It is also possible to get a Pack before 1 June.

A Home Information Pack contains:

An Energy Performance Certificate which tells you how energy efficient the property is
Other compulsory documents, such as an index of contents, a sale statement, searches and evidence of title
Optional documents, such as the Home Condition Report

Compulsory Items

The following compulsory documents must be included in a Home Information Pack:

Home Information Pack Index
Energy Performance Certificate*
Sale Statement
Standard searches
Evidence of title
Additional information for leasehold and commonhold sales, where appropriate.

*Energy Performance Certificates

If you’re buying a home after 1 June 2007, you can expect to find an Energy Performance Certificate as part of the Home information Pack for the house you’re considering buying.

The certificates are commissioned by the seller (or their agent) from an accredited Energy Assessor, who visits the property to collect the relevant data and creates the certificate. This data includes the date, construction and location of the house and relevant fittings (heating systems, insulation or double glazing, for example).

Optional Items

Some documents in the Home Information Pack are optional. These include:

Home Condition Report
Legal summary
Home use/contents forms

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