What is a Home Information Pack (HIP)?

A HIP is an official electronic or paper document that must include

An index of contents
An Energy Performance Certificate
Evidence of Title
Land and Drainage Searches
A copy of the lease (where applicable)

What is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)?

This is a document which is compiled after an assessment of your property has been carried out by a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA). The visit will take approximately 1-2 hours depending on the size of the property. The DEA will need access (if possible) to the loft to check and measure any roof insulation. They will also need to have access to all areas of the house in order to collect the relevant measurements and to check fireplaces, light bulbs and boiler/heating systems etc. It should be noted that the house cannot fail an energy assessment - it will be graded A-G depending on it’s energy efficiency. The EPC will also contain recommendations on how to improve the energy efficiency of the property.

How Long does a HIP Last?

If Selling - As long as it takes to sell the property provided it remains on the market. Should you remove it from the market the the HIP can only be reused provided that the EPC is less than 1 year old and the Search documents are less than 3 months old

If Renting - You will only be required to purchase the EPC which is valid for 10 years. However if improvements are made to the property then it would be beneficial to get a new EPC to reflect the improvements made to the property.