Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ) - FAQs

I already have a Home Information Pack , do I need to ask my HIP provider or Conveyancing lawyer to send me a PIQ to complete ?

On the basis that you have already applied for your Home Information Pack before 6 April you do not need to complete a Property Information Questionnaire.

We would not necessarily recommend completing a Property Information Questionnaire for your Home Information Pack but if you feel that you would like to provide more information to the buyer at this stage, then you can do so. Some sellers may also consider that properties being marketed after 6 April have an advantage in that the Home Information Pack (by virtue of having a PIQ) will contain more information on the property.

If you consider this to be the case or are worried about this, then you can certainly complete a Property Information Questionnaire and send it to your Home Information Pack provider for them to include. They should not charge you for adding this to the Home Information Pack and emailing you a copy of the electronic version of the Home Information Pack. Should you require a printed version of the Home Information Pack with the Property Information Questionnaire within it, then the Home Information Pack provider (or the estate agent) would be entitled to charge you a reasonable fee. This is normally around £15.

How often will I need to update the Property Information Questionnaire?

The regulations are silent on this particular point but the Property Information Questionnaire guidelines do suggest that if there is any information that changes during the time that the property is marketed, you should update the Property Information Questionnaire.

Bearing in mind that buyers may well rely on the contents of the PIQ you potentially run the risk of the buyer claiming that he relied on inaccurate information in placing an offer on the property. In the circumstances, clearly the best advice is to make sure that the Property Information Questionnaire remains accurate. You should check with your Home Information Pack provider as to whether or not they will prompt you (perhaps every four months) to check that the Property Information Questionnaire remains accurate.

The estate agent said that they will complete the PIQ . Should I let them do this?

Absolutely not.

Quite apart from the fact that the estate agents potentially face a fine under the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 (should it prove to be the case that the information contained within the Property Information Questionnaire was inaccurate), you do not want to leave yourself exposed to a buyer claiming damages from you because the information was incorrect.

Furthermore, there has been early indications from some agents that they will complete the Questionnaires with “Do not knows”. The problem with this is that you are going to be unable to quantify how many buyers look at a Home Information Pack and are put off by what is a blatant attempt not to disclose information.

Some buyers will be very concerned by such behaviour especially when they are looking at a number of properties and compare your PIQ to other Property Information Questionnaires which clearly reveal relevant. For example, if you were looking at buying a semi-detached house and you were interested in two properties, one of which clearly indicated in the PIQ that they had all planning permissions and building regulations for the extensions that have been done to the property and the other the identical property had a Property Information Questionnaire indicating that they simply do not know whether there are any extensions, whether any planning permissions exist or whether any building regulations exist, which one would you be more likely to go for?

The PIQ that I have received does not have any place for me to sign it. Can this be correct?

Correct.

The current prescribed Property Information Questionnaire as issued by the Government does not have a place on it for a signature. This need not be of concern to you. We suspect that almost all conveyancing lawyers when looking at a Property Information Questionnaire on behalf of a buyer will ask for the clarification as to who completed the PIQ.

Who can I get to help me complete the Property Information Questionnaire?

Please see our article 'Who can help you complete a Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ)?'

How much information am I supposed to give? The Property Information Questionnaire asks me to give details if the property has suffered from flooding, has suffered from storm damage etc . How much detail do I need to go into?

It is better to be safe than sorry. If the property has been flooded or suffered from storm damage, then please do give details, but then on the other hand, do couch your answer in such a way that it does reveal a satisfactory solution (if here was indeed a satisfactory outcome). If it was met by an insurance claim, then specify that it was met by an insurance claim.

If there was only a minor flood, specify that it was a minor flood. It would be very dangerous to try and hide the information at this stage as it will have to be revealed as part of the conveyancing process in due course. The Fridays’ view is that if in doubt, put it in, but better still telephone Fridays or your HIP provider or conveyancing lawyers to guide you on specific questions.

Is there any advice you could give me before embarking on completing the Property Information Questionnaire?

Yes. Please dig out your old file from when you purchased the property. You should find within that file a Report on Title from your conveyancing lawyer. This conveyancing report will provide you with important information about your property. The information in that Report may be relevant for the completion of the Property Information Questionnaire, such as details as to rights of access and what particular details relating to the Lease (should you have a leasehold property). Unfortunately, if you do not have the Report on Title available, there is little point in contacting your previous conveyancing lawyers as :

(a) they may charge you for retrieving your file and

(b) it would normally take a law firm a few days to retrieve your file. This may be too long for you bearing in mind that you want to market the property as quickly as possible.

For existing Fridays’ clients, we keep all Reports on Title in digital format and generally do not charge clients for retrieving files.

I am not the owner of the property but hold a Power of Attorney to act on behalf of the seller, can I complete the Property Information Questionnaire?

Yes, you can, but it is definitely advisable to make it very clear within the answers within the Property Information Questionnaire that you are answering in your capacity as Attorney (under a Power of Attorney) and that you have no personal knowledge of the property. This way the buyer will not consider that your answers are evasive but simply, understandably, you do not have the requisite personal knowledge of the property.

The Home Information Pack provider has advised me that they can go through the PIQ with me over the phone. Apparently, I do not need to sign the Property Information Questionnaire so they can complete the form and incorporate it within the Home Information Pack and then send it directly to the estate agent. Is this correct?

Yes, this is correct, but some words of warning here:

(a) Please make sure that you have had the opportunity of checking the pdf ( electronic ) version or printed version of the Property Information Questionnaire before they send it off to the estate agents.

(b) Check that they are insured. It may well be that they are guiding you or make a mistake in the Property Information Questionnaire that could potentially leave you financially exposed. Please check with the Home Information Pack provider that they insurance which covers them giving you legal advice on completing the Property Information Questionnaire.

Do I need to complete Part 2 of the Property Information Questionnaire which relates to leasehold property where I have a share of freehold?

Yes. The fact you have a share of freehold is irrelevant. The property that you are selling still remains leasehold (albeit that you may well be selling it with a share of freehold) and therefore you have to complete the second section of the PIQ. Please note that your estate agent will not be able to market the property without a fully completed Property Information Questionnaire and therefore if you have left the leasehold section blank in these circumstances ,then, if spotted by your estate agent they will rightly point out that they are unable to market the property.

The answer above is ridiculous. I do not pay ground rent, I do not pay service charges, I am the freeholder and quite frankly the fact that there is a relatively short lease is irrelevant, is it not?

There is no need to work yourself up! This can be addressed by simply stating that no ground rent or service charge is payable but, you should be careful not to put off a buyer who may think you have an absentee landlord. Make it clear within the form that you have a share of freehold and that is the reason why no ground rent is paid. Likewise in specifying the number of years remaining put in brackets afterwards, where applicable, if you have a share of freehold.

The footnotes on the Government produced PIQ indicate that I am expected to access my lease. Quite frankly, it is difficult enough understanding a lawyer’s letters, never mind a 20-page legal document full of legal jargon. Do the Government really expect me to be able to define my lease and review it before giving answers?

It is agreed that the Government are somewhat naïve in believing that most sellers will have a copy of their lease and indeed that most sellers are comfortable in interpreting the wording of the lease.

The leasehold aspects of the Property Information Questionnaire are definitely complex and if the questions are to be answered correctly, they do require a good understanding of the provisions of the lease. It is generally advisable in the case of leasehold properties to go through the PIQ with a conveyancing lawyer or through an online PIQ prepared by conveyancing lawyers which will guide you through the various traps.

My research on the web has resulted in me finding something called a PDQ which seems to be much more comprehensive than a Property Information Questionnaire. Do I have to complete a PDQ or a PIQ?

You do not want to be completing the PDQ because it can be more complex than a Property Information Questionnaire. The PDQ was an authorised document which means that you can voluntarily complete this form and place it within the Home Information Pack. We would recommend that you only complete the Property Information Questionnaire.