What I Need to Do When Selling a Home?
Please note: Home Information Packs (HIPs) were abolished by the UK government in May 2010. This article is retained for historical reference only and does not reflect current property buying or selling requirements. For current guidance on buying or selling a home, visit GOV.UK.

Selling your home is not as easy as it may sound. It is not just a case of sticking a For Sale sign outside your door and waiting for the potential buyers to flock to it while you take your pick of who you fancy moving in. Indeed, when Home Information Packs were required, sellers had to put a little more effort into selling their property.

Home Information Packs

Home Information Packs were a significant change that occurred in the housing market. When they were required, it was the seller's responsibility to provide a Home Information Pack to prospective buyers. Until June 1st 2008 you only needed to commission the pack before you put your house on the market. If you then sold your house before the pack was completed you did not need it. You still needed to provide an Energy Performance Certificate though.

After June 1st 2008 you needed to have completed the pack by the time you marketed your house and had to be able to provide the prospective buyer with it within 14 days of them requesting to see it.

You could compile a pack on your own or by using an estate agent, a solicitor or a specialist pack provider.

Once the Pack is Completed

Once you have completed the pack and your house is on the market you do not have to alter it. The pack does not have to be updated while it is still on the market. If you take your property of the market, however, then it is a little different.

If you take your house of the market because you have received an offer which has subsequently fallen through then you do not need to update the Home Information Pack - provided you start remarketing it within one year of the first day you marketed it or within 28 days of the sale falling through if later.

If you take your house off the market for any other reason and then want to put it back on the market you do not have to update the pack if, once again, remarketing starts within a year.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

What Happens if You Take Your Home off the Market?

If you take your house of the market and want to put it back on over a year after the first day of marketing then you will need to create a new pack and update any documents which are not out of date.

Marketing Your House

Marketing your house is important when trying to sell it quickly. You need to consult an estate agent, preferably one who knows the area and will be able to direct the right clients to your property i.e. one who can inform parents of the educational facilities in the area etc.

Selling your house is not easy but the purpose of the Home Information Pack is, claim the Government, to make the process easier. It will take some time though to see what home owners think about the initiative.