Frequently asked questions
A Home Information Pack is required when marketing starts, but how is this defined in relation to new homes? Developers often put signs up to say that the land has been acquired for building and that a particular number of homes will be available for sale. Does this constitute 'marketing,' even though no properties are actually available for sale at that point?
The question of whether marketing has begun will depend on the facts of the individual case. In cases where a 'land acquired for building' sign is erected, there is no single residential property identifiable, and the developer does not know what specifically is for sale, then this is unlikely to be considered 'marketing'. However, if the developer is at a point at which reservations can be taken for individual properties, then it's likely that the developer is marketing individual properties. The important point is that the information in a Pack is designed to help buyers to make decisions about properties. If the developer is at a point where people can start doing this, then a Pack is likely to be needed.
Will searches have to be complete and plot-specific, or will one search for one development be accepted, as home builders currently conduct searches based on the whole development?
The Regulations provide that the results of a search can be incomplete if the information is not available in any circumstances. These also enable a search to cover a complete development to be included, provided that it covers the particular property (although we would strongly advise a search per property if this is practicable and the circumstances suggest that that this would produce a different result).
How do you define who is the 'responsible person' under the legislation - developers sometimes sell homes directly, sometimes instruct an estate agent and sometimes act jointly?
The Pack duties (and the penalties for breaching them) apply to the person who is responsible for marketing the property. There are two categories of person who can be held responsible - the seller himself or someone who is acting as the seller's estate agent. The responsibility of a seller ceases when there is at least one person acting as an estate agent and the seller is no longer marketing the property himself. Where the developer and estate agent are both actively engaged in marketing, they will both be responsible persons, but not where the developer has left marketing entirely to their agent.
Do you need a Pack for each individual property if you are selling more than one home to an investor, and does it make a difference if selling on one contract for a number of units or on separate contracts?
The Regulations provide that sales of 'portfolios' of properties are exempted from the Pack duties. In order for the exception to apply, a number of conditions must be satisfied.
First, the sale must involve two or more properties that would otherwise be subject to the Pack duties (whether under a single contract of sale for all, or under separate contracts for each property included in the sale).
Second all the properties must be available for sale with vacant possession (unless there is partial occupancy in dwellings in a sub-divided building marketed as a single property e.g. a "granny-flat")
Third, the terms of the sale should indicate that the seller would not accept an offer to buy any one of the properties in isolation, and that this is made clear in the marketing material.
Is a Pack required in any circumstances with regards to a) the provision of social housing for Registered Social Landlords? How do Packs apply for sales of properties on shared-equity schemes?
Sales of new homes to a Registered Social Landlord are likely to be covered by the 'portfolio' exception described above. Sales of single properties on shared-equity terms to individual purchasers, either by the Registered Social Landlord or the developer, are not exempted from the Pack duties. However, if they aren't marketed to the public or a section of the public, the duties would not arise.
Is a buyer of a new home required to provide a Pack for a home being taken in part exchange?
No. In this example, there would be no marketing 'to the public or a section of the public', and therefore no duty to provide a Pack.
When does a copy of the Pack need to be provided? Can it be an electronic copy?
A copy of the Pack only needs to be provided to a potential buyer when he or she asks for one. If the potential buyer is happy to have an electronic copy, that's fine - but a paper copy must be provided if not. Where the potential buyer insists on a paper copy, the seller is entitled to make a reasonable charge to cover copying and postage costs.
Can a home be sold with elements of the Pack missing?
Marketing can start with an incomplete Pack where certain required items e.g. leasehold documents or searches are expected to be available within 28 days of marketing. In these cases, the missing item should be added as soon as it becomes available.
Energy Performance Certificates
Where can a copy of the proposed form of the Energy Performance Certificate be downloaded?
For a specimen Energy Performance Certificate, click here.
When and how will the register of Energy Assessors be available?
All persons producing Energy Performance Certificates will need to be members of an accreditation scheme. It will be the responsibility of the accreditation schemes to hold registers of Energy Assessors. Proposals for organisations wishing to run accreditation schemes are currently under review, and successful applicants will be appointed by the Secretary of State following the regulations being passed by Parliament Back to top
Will the content of the Energy Performance Certificate be the same for existing homes and new homes?
The content is dictated by the EU Directive, and so will be the same for both. However, clearly some issues will be different (for example, there might be fewer recommended improvements that would be cost effective for a new home). But the look and feel of both will be the same.
Can the Energy Performance Certificate for new homes be in an electronic format? Currently, the Standard Assessment Procedure rating provided to purchasers is done in this way, usually by architects?
Yes, as described above.
Can builders with the necessary qualifications self-certify?
We have advice from the European Commission that it would be acceptable for Energy Performance Certificates to be produced in-house by a builder as long as this is carried out in an 'independent manner'.
These people would still need to be suitably qualified and accredited. We aim to have an audit process built into our accreditation arrangements that includes sample checks to satisfy the independent manner requirement.
Can Energy Performance Certificates be issued against a nominated 'standard house type', if we build to the same specification?
The software that calculates the energy performance rating is likely to require each building to be separately entered, since it is only by doing this that the information becomes building specific for subsequent re-use of certificates, and so on.
The certificate generation will be an electronic exercise for new homes, if the input data is identical for a number of buildings all being certificated at the same time, it ought to be possible to minimise the effort - but this will be an issue for software design, which is being taken forward on a commercial basis by individual companies.
Is the 'Report on a home not physically complete' form needed now that the Home Condition Report is no longer mandatory?
No. This is no longer required, but it can be included in the Pack on a voluntary basis.
Do home builders need to inform people of a prospective change in the site plans etc once a Pack has been issued for a particular plot?
There is no continuing requirement to keep the Pack updated, except in relation to the Predicted Energy Assessment. Where the property is taken off the market, the HIP obligations cease to apply.
