D-Day for home information packs

By Jennifer Hill

LONDON (Reuters) - The controversial home information pack (HIP) scheme comes into force on Wednesday, initially only for properties with four or more bedrooms.

The packs, to be provided by sellers for their potential buyers, contain key information about a property, including title deeds, local searches and an energy performance certificate.

The scheme was due to come into force for all property sellers in England and Wales on June 1.

But Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly was forced to postpone the introduction of the packs, which will now be phased in, because not enough energy assessors had been trained to allow them to go ahead when planned.

HIPs shift most of the burden of gathering information about a property prior to sale from the buyer to the seller.

The packs will include evidence of title, copies of planning, listed building or building regulation consents, guarantees for any work, an energy performance certificate, standard searches and legal documents, along with an optional home condition report.

But they will no longer have to include a full survey of the property -- which would have been the most expensive part -- following a host of objections.

The government says the packs, expected to cost sellers around 500 pounds, are needed to speed up the process of buying a house and help reduce carbon emissions from homes.