Leasehold properties escape HIP extension

Home information pack (HIP) providers have welcomed the government’s decision to extend the HIP scheme to all freehold properties next month.
From 14 December, residential properties with one or two bedrooms will require a HIP and an energy performance certificate to be commissioned before they can be marketed.

However, Peter Ambrose, director of HIP provider The Partnership, says he is disappointed with the concessions made for leasehold properties.
 After complaints by consumers that leasehold documents are proving hard to obtain quickly, the government says the HIP regulations will be amended so that the lease document itself must be included, but other leasehold information will only be introduced as a requirement in six months’ time.
Ambrose says: “Given that until June, the only document required in a leasehold HIP is the lease, this significantly undermines their value.
“Although we understand the concerns about the availability of additional leasehold information, we believe this is an opportunity missed to make improvements to leasehold transactions in the same way that HIPs have improved the competitiveness of local authorities to provide authorised searches.”