Sample HIPs

What do you need to know is in the pack?

First off, the Energy Performance Certificate - see right

This tells you how energy efficient a home is on a scale of A-G. The most energy efficient homes (which should have the lowest fuel bills) are in band A.

The Environmental Impact Rating - see right

This is a measure of the impact the home has on the environment. Better-rated homes should have less impact through carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Again, scaled from A-G, A being good G is poor.

Currently, the average property in the UK is in bands D-E for both ratings. The Certificate will include recommendations on ways to improve the home's energy efficiency to save money and help the environment.

Compulsory documents

Include a Home Information Pack Index, listing the documents contained in the Pack. The Index provides a checklist for sellers, buyers, estate agents and enforcement authorities. The index is surprisingly very important and if a document is unavailable, the Index must say so, give the reason it is missing, and indicate what steps are being taken to obtain it. The indexed should also be updated where documents are added to or removed from the Pack at a later stage.