A Home Information Pack is a series of documents now mandatory by law for marketing the sale of all residential properties in England and Wales. The pack contains an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), Local Authority and Land Registry searches and other legal documentation, such as sale statement and title deeds.
The reason the HIP was introduced, as a provision of the Housing Act 2004, was to reduce the timeframe from a prospective buyer making an offer and completion. Also by providing much more information to buyers upfront allows them to make a more informed decision, thus streamlining the selling process.
The Home Information Pack has followed a phased implementation starting as a requirement for 4 or more bedroom properties on the 1st August 2007. This was then extended to 3 bedroom properties on the 10th September, and finally rolled out to the whole market on the 14th December 2007.