Home Information Pack resources

  1. Third party downloads and links
  4. Books

1. Third party downloads and links

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2. Related Property in Practice articles

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3. Related Gazette articles

Law Society claims HIPs roll-out will offer solicitors a leasehold advantage
29 November 2007
The rollout of home information packs (HIPs) to all properties puts solicitors in the best place to take the lead in delivering HIPs because...

Marsh: HIPs delayed by search and leasehold snags
25 October 2007
As the government this week denied that the full roll-out of home information packs (HIPs) had been delayed, the Law Society has claimed...

60% of conveyancers have completed a HIP, says poll
13 September 2007
As the government rolld out HIPs to cover three-bedroom properties this week, an online Law Society poll showed...

Government comes under attack over HIPs extension
30 August 2007
The government has come under fir over its implementation of HIPs, after Whitehall announced an extension to the scheme...

Firms unite to tackle conveyancing threat
16 August 2007
Law firms in several parts of the country are uniting to tackle the challenges of HIPs and maintain their position in the conveyancing market...

HIPs survive vote
26 July 2007
The government vowed to press ahead with the introduction of HIPs next week, despite losing a vite in the House of Lords...

Building an alternative to HIPs
13 July 2007
Paul Marsh explains how the Law Society’s TransAction protocol could offer a workable
alternative to troubled HIPs...

Whitehall sets out three-stage launch for troubled HIPs
14 June 2007
HIPs will be launched in three stages dictated by the number of bedrooms a property has, the government announced...

Unclear fate of HIPs
31 May 2007
Property practitioners should be wary of speculation about the future of HIPs and concentrate on maintaining the momentum...

HIPs exemption plea
10 May 2007
The Law Society is lobbying the government to ensure that simply preparing HIPs is exempted from money laundering regulations...

MPs bid to scrap HIPs
3 May 2007
Opposition MPs have launched a last-ditch attempt to scrap Home Information Packs (HIPs)...

HIPs receive final green light
5 April 2007
The government has confirmed its intention to press ahead with its controversial plans for the introduction of HIPs...

Solicitors, surveyors, lenders and estate agents turn up heat over HIPs launch
22 March 2007
Major stakeholders in the property industry have warned that the government's plans to introduce HIPs are chaotic...

Property groups seek HIPs implementation delay
1 March 2007
Three key property groups have increased the pressure on the government to delay the implementation of HIPs...

Solicitors told to gear up for HIPs, as Whitehall confirms 1 June launch date
22 February 2007
Home Informations Packs will 'go live' on 1 June 2007 - and it is vital that practitioners now engage with the process...

Fresh retreat on HIPs
1 February 2007
The government has used the "fig leaf" of the energy performance certificate (EPC) to cover up a further climbdown...

HIPs could fall at final hurdle
30 November 2006
As the introduction of HIPs draws near, Raymond Perry assesses the danger that the government could still abandon them...

HIPs call to solicitors
9 November 2006
Solicitors must engage with HIP trials or risk losing their position in the market, conveyancing practitioners warned...

Rightmove exits HIPs
3 August 2006
Several Home Information Pack (HIP) providers are likely to follow the lead of property website company Rightmove and withdraw from the market..

Task force hails end of compulsory home reports
27 July 2006
The Law Society's Home Information Packs Task Force welcomed the government's decision to make the most contentious part of the pack voluntary...

Society launches HIPs dry run
15 June 2006
The Law Society is to launch a dry run of its Home Information Pack (HIP) later this month, a year before the controversial home...

HIPs group launched
8 June 2006
A multi-disciplinary organisation for independent property professionals is to launch next month, in a bid to counteract the lobbying power...

Still HIP to trust a solicitor despite home selling reform
1 June 2006
The public wants solicitors to retain a key role in the home-selling process after next year's introduction of Home Information Packs...

Electronic standard makes HIP dry run possible
27 April 2006
PISCES, the group putting together the common standard for exchange of information in conveyancingm releases its Home Information Pack...

Bulk conveyancers eye HIPs opportunity
23 March 2006
Leading bulk conveyancing firms are steering clear of trying to sell Home Information Packs (HIPs) direct to customers...

HIPs timetable unveiled
23 March 2006
The first independent pilot of Home Information Pack (HIPs) began this week, days after the government mapped out...

Homing in on worries
9 March 2006
Peter Vince accuses the Law Society of passively accepting the government's introduction of Home Information Packs...

Editorial - Home truths
9 March 2006
One thing is certain about Home Information Packs (HIPs) - they will trigger profound change in the house-buying process...

High street firms baffled by HIPs
9 March 2006
Home Information Packs (HIPs) remain a mystery to eight out of ten high street firms, research has revealed...

Opening doors
9 February 2006
With the advent of home information packs, solicitors fear competition from estate agents. Could solicitors acting as estate agents themselves be the answer...

Firms warned of potential upheaval in HIP providers
19 January 2006
Law firms need to start thinking about the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs), the Chairman of the Law Society...

Gazette articles from 2005-2003
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4.  Books 

Home Information Packs: a guide to the new law (Law Society Publishing, 2006)

Link Text


The government is committed to making the provision of Home Information Packs a compulsory part of the conveyancing process from June 2007. This book is designed for solicitors and property professionals who need to understand the legal issues and practical implications so that they can prepare their practices and remain competitive in a changing marketplace.

It provides an authoritative commentary to Part 5 of the Housing Act 2004 and the subsidiary regulations which contain the detail of how the Home Information Packs system will operate, and gives an informed and clear analysis of the:

  • content of HIPs;
  • collation and accuracy of information for the packs;
  • enforcement and sanctions;
  • possible solutions for breaches; and
  • proposals for a "dry run" and transitional provisions

The implications of HIPs and the changes required to current practice are considered from the different perspectives of the parties involved – the buyers, sellers, conveyancers, surveyors, and estate agents.

Michael Garson has been a practising solicitor for more than 30 years. He is a member of the National Association of Estate Agents and Chairs the Law Society's Property Section. He has been involved with the ODPM working parties developing the Home Information Packs and the Law Society's working party revising the TransAction scheme.

Price for Property Section members save 20 per cent (quote Section membership)

Order a copy from Marston Book Services
Postal: PO Box 312, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4YH
DX: 130431 Didcot 2
Tel: 01235 465 656
Fax: 01235 465 660

Home Information Packs - a practical guide (Sweet & Maxwell, 2005)

This guide will help practitioners come to terms with the nature and content of the packs, and ensure they are able to work to the new procedures once they come into force. Setting out part 5 of the Housing Act 2004 in full, the guide is interspersed with detailed annotation which expertly explains and analyses the legislation and its objectives.

Supported by diagrams, the contents of HIPs are discussed and a specimen copy of the Home Condition Report, a key component of the packs, is reproduced in full.

The guide also explains the new regime and procedures that will need to be followed. A table demonstrates the new processes, highlighting the key changes and the correct steps to follow in a routine conveyance, once the packs take effect.

Professor Phillip Kenny is Dean of the School of Law at Northumbria University and consultant solicitor at Dickinson Dees. He is the editor of Sweet and Maxwell's Conveyancing Practice, general editor for The Conveyancer and Property Lawyer, and part of the author team for Current Law. He is also a member of the Law Society's Conveyancing and Land Law Committee.

To order a copy, visit www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk.
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