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22nd March 2007 Home Information Packs set to become law.... With effect from 1st June 2007, anyone selling a property in England and Wales will have to provide a Home Information pack that includes an energy performance certificate completed by a qualified domestic engineer. Already 18000 of these packs have been produced and the legislation will take effect on the above date after dry runs in Bath, Cambridge, Huddersfield, Newcastle, North West Wales ,Northampton, Southampton & Southwark  The pack will include important information which should prove helpful to both buyers and sellers.  For buyers, it means that with effect from 1st June 2007, they will be able to obtain additional information about a property which will help them make a decision as to it's suitability for their needs. For sellers, producing a pack right at the start of the sales process, should help guard against " issues" cropping up further down the line which could lead to delays or even resulting in the buyer pulling out of the deal. A prudent seller will be able to construct a pack with all the required information and perhaps more which will help sell his or her property. Home information packs should contain the following information as a minimum. An index of the contents in the property (that is passing with the title) A statement of sale Evidence of title ( for registered properties) An energy performance certificate Searches and leasehold/common hold documents ( or evidence that these have been commissioned) The following items need to be included but they can be added at a later date if there is a delay in obtaining them. Evidence of title (for unregistered properties) Searches Leasehold/common hold documents Where any documents are missing an explanation should be provided as to why and a time scale (usually 28 days to provide the documents). If after a period of 28 days they can still not be provided, evidence of the steps taken to obtain the documents will need to be provided.  Of course as mentioned above, you can include more in your pack and many vendors will be providing such information as; boundaries, disputes, guarantees, services, rights, planning & building controls etc, area details,  etc Anyone marketing a property for sale is responsible to make sure that the home information pack is provided to a prospective purchaser on request or within 14 days, if you want to obtain a pack to sell you home, you should be able to obtain them from a variety of sources, Estate Agents, Solicitors, any number of online pack providers, Financial Advisors. You can of course do your own research on this matter but as most property is  still sold through estate agents, you can expect them to be able to provide professional help with the preparation of the packs and for most people, this will be the first port of call. Packs are valid for the duration that the property is marketed and do need not be up dated providing of course, the property is not removed from the market. So what can you expect to see in your Home Information pack. Amongst the information that will be provided will a statement of sale that lists the name and address of the vendor, whether the property is freehold or leasehold  and evidence of the title. One of the major bones of contention of house purchase has always been exactly what the purchaser is obtaining for their money, countless people have arrived to move in to their new property and discovered that the building has been stripped of its fixtures and fittings in some cases down to the actual light bulbs. The contents inventory should stop there being an surprises in respect if this. The feature that is attracting the most interest is without doubt the energy rating certificate, this will  have to be produced by a qualified engineer and will show on a scale of A-G how energy efficient the home is. The report will also show on a scale of A-G the effect that the home will have on the environment will homes rated A, having the least effect on the environment.  The chancellor announced in his budget on 20th March 2007 that persons buying " Green Homes" would be helped,  In fact - all new "zero-carbon" homes costing up to £500,000 will be exempt from stamp duty and going forward it looks like  Homeowners are going to be encouraged to protect  the environment. If you require more information about Home Insurance packs, you can try any of the sources above or you can visit the official government site    back to top   Copyright Assetsure Limited 2007