From 6th April 2009 the seller or their estate agent will not be allowed to market a property (unless exempt - see above) without a HIP being available. If you are interested in buying a property ask the seller or his estate agent to provide you with a copy of the HIP. You are entitled to receive an e mail or web-link to the HIP for free. If you want a paper copy of the HIP the seller or his agent are entitled to charge you a reasonable amount for providing a paper copy and for postage. The seller or his agent must make the HIP available to buyers within 14 days of a request to do so. The seller or his agent have the right to refuse to supply a HIP to a person who they do not consider to be a serious buyer for the property.

The HIP contains information that may assist you in making your decision to buy the property. It will include information on how energy efficient the property is, who owns the property and whether there are any restrictive or positive covenants on the property that would affect your use of it. The HIP must also contain the local authority and water authority searches. These are valid for 6 months and if they are still current your solicitor will be able to use them for free saving you the cost of having the searches made again.

Updating the HIP 

Provided the property is continuously marketed there is no obligation upon the Seller to update the HIP or the contents of the HIP. If the property is taken off the market because a sale has been agreed then provided it is returned to the market within 28 days there is still no need to provide a new or updated HIP. There is an obligation on a new home builder to upgrade the Predicted Energy Assessment to an Energy Performance Certificate once the property is completed.