HIP - Home Information Pack

Quick update on HIPs and the EPC. As you know from August 1st HIP and Epc needed, on 4 bedroom and larger homes only.

David Marsden, the head of the property department at law firm Matthew Arnold and Baldwin, said that there was no official definition of a bedroom.

Be hips and EPC free market as, 4 rooms upstairs plus en suite and bathroom..

Under planning law, it is about whether rooms are habitable, not whether they are bedrooms or not.”.


Legal fact not rhetoric

Chris
Avoid the Home information pack

I'm planning on selling my buy-to-let property, a 3 bed semi, and I'm totally confused by the HIP stuff.

Can anyone tell me:

1. What is the legal definition of a "bedroom".
2. What is the legal definition of "marketing" (the property).
3. Why would anyone spend £600 to save a £200 fine (if caught)?
4. What do the government consider a "reasonable" amount to charge a prospective purchaser who asks for a copy of the HIP?

Strewth - why did they have to fiddle with the selling process!!! I'm voting Tory next time.

Regarding bedrooms... many properties are marketed on the internet, sites such as rightmove.co.uk and to look for a property you would normally select the number of bedrooms you require.

If you are after a 4 bedroom house, it would not come up on a search for, say a 2 bedroom property which also has 2 "studies".

I wouldn't want to buy a house that didn't have a HIP as I would be concerned that there was something to hide for example, access to the property, who actually owns it, land registry, structural defects etc etc...

But when I bought it all those years ago I didn't need a HIP. My mortgage company insisted on surveys - why would I believe a HIP anyway, that's information provided by the vendor and these days we all have scanners and access to high end colour laser printers!

Nah, HIPS are a just another tax. I also hear that the Trading Standards don't want to prosecute because it's not a criminal offence, so the can't reclaim the £2k it costs to bring the civil prosecution. That means we, the public, get to pay £1800 to harass an estate agent.

Has anyone been prosecuted yet and if so are any of those individuals who stick a sign board up themselves and don't use an estate agent?

The last house I bought the agent hadn't even typed up the details when I walked through the door. What's he supposed to do, tell us he can't accept our offer because he hasn't done a HIP yet?