PROPERTY
THE ARRIVAL
OF HOME
INFORMATION
PACKS OR NOT?
With some ten days to go
HIPs were again delayed
until the 1st August by the
Government following a
threat of Judicial Review
by the Royal Institute of
Chartered Surveyors for
inadequate
consultation
and preparation by the
Government.
I personally anticipated further
delays following the Governments
U-turn earlier this year, when
the necessity to include a Home
Inspectors Report was dropped,
leaving the only input from a
Surveyors point of view to be that of
an Energy Performance Certificate.
In anticipation of the necessity to
provide a Home Inspectors Report
various organisations and firms of
Chartered Surveyors around the
country invested millions of pounds
in training individuals to become
Home Inspectors. In essence, it
was anticipated to be a lucrative
new business opportunity for both
Surveyors and newly formed Service
Companies.
However, whilst a number of us
in the Legal Profession were of the
opinion that this meant the demise
of the Pack, I frankly felt that
this would not be the case, as the
Government were obliged to see
through this legislation to comply
with European directives concerning
establishing the energy efficiency of
a property. This effectively resulted
in the Government insisting that
each Pack now compulsory must
include an Energy Performance
Certificate and those Surveyors
trained to undertake Reports could
divert their efforts to providing such
Certificates. The presentation of
the EPC would be very similar to
that which is found on a refrigerator
in terms of the energy and efficiency
of a property. Whilst it is a relatively
- life
Photo - Terence Willey
useful piece of information for an
intending buyer and attractively
colour chart coded, I expect that
most individuals will not pay it
the due attention that might have Your kind of
been the case in a Home Inspectors
Report.
The other compulsory documents
for the Pack would be that of a
current Local Search, evidence of
Title to the property whether it be
registered or unregistered including
all reference to rights, covenants
and restrictions affecting the
property and legal definition and
a sale statement of the property,
either provided by the seller in the
case of a private sale or an appointed
Estate Agent.
Service Companies have over the
last few months courted Estate
Agents to package services and in
triangular agreements involving
Pack Provider, Estate Agent and
Lawyer.
A seller should be wary of being
able to secure a Home Information
Pack directly from an Estate
Agent and must, in my view,
secure confirmation of absolute
independence and that the HIP
provided may be portable to their
preferred lawyer.
I have always considered that there
should be total independence and
transparency of any arrangement in
place for the consumer client.
There should never be any
substitute for the principle of
balancing modern technology
with personal service and the
ability of the client to maintain the
independence of choice of Estate
Agent and Lawyer in this new
process.
Terence Willey & Co
Tel: 01983 811222
Please check our website
www.terencewilley.co.uk
Island Life - www.isleofwight.net
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