How Long is a Home Information Pack Valid For?

The most frequently asked question by the public phoning up for a Home Information Pack is “How long is a Home Information Pack valid for?”. The answer is not a simple answer even though one would think that it is. The reason for this is that there is a legal answer and there is a practical answer.

The legal answer as to validity of a Home Information Pack : 

A Home Information Pack remains valid for as long as the property remains on the market.  To further clarify the position a Home Information Pack remains valid provided:

• the property is still marketed one year after it was first up for sale (you may take your house off the market as many times as you like within the first year);
• the property is continuously marketed after the first year of marketing has elapsed; and
• if you have a failed sale occurring more than one year after marketing commenced, you must put your property back on the market within 28 days.

There is no obligation on you or the estate agent trying to sell your property to keep the information up to date (please see below – it may be in your interests to do so regardless).

The practical answer to validity of the Home Information Pack : 

In practice the validity of the Home Information Pack is determined by the date of the searches.  Almost all lenders  will not accept searches in a Home Information Pack which are more than six months old.  The Energy Performance Certificate is currently valid for three years although this is under constant review by the government. 

In practice, because the lenders do not accept searches of more than six months old then a buyer’s conveyancing lawyer will not accept them either.  Fridays are of course conveyancing lawyers who have significant experience in conveyancing and in many cases we are finding that where the search is more than six months old the buyer’s conveyancing lawyer will insist on new searches.  It will often fall upon the seller to pay for a new Local Authority Search (which is the most expensive part of the Home Information Pack).  Conversely, where Fridays acts in their capacity as a conveyancing lawyer for the buyer we would certainly ask for these searches to be refreshed  if we found that the searches within the Home Information Pack were more than six months old.  Some conveyancing lawyers, and indeed many banks, accept indemnity insurance as a way of indemnifying the validity of the Local Authority Search.  In many ways this can prove to be the best outcome for the buyer because such insurance policies can sometimes be wrapped up with insuring against breaches of planning permission or Building Regulation Approval or cover potential defects with the title to the property.

Property Information Questionnaire

One additional point to remember is that the introduction of the Property Information Questionnaire means that the seller has to complete detailed information on the property.  The Property Information Questionnaire is a mandatory component part of the Home Information Pack.  In other words, your property cannot be marketed without the Property Information Questionnaire being supplied.  There has been much press during the weeks leading up to the Home Information Pack regulations, which came into effect on 6 April and the week thereafter, about the potential risks of inaccurate information within the Property Information Questionnaire.  It is worth bearing in mind that not only is it imperative that the information contained within the Property Information Questionnaire is accurate but also that it is updated.  Sometimes information within the Property Information Questionnaire can become inaccurate by way of effluxion of time.  In the circumstances, it is good practice for conveyancing lawyers to recommend to their sellers that the Property Information Questionnaire is updated frequently although the information outlined above in respect of validity remains equally true to the Property Information Questionnaire as it does to the Home Information Pack itself.