Raising standards to protect homeowners
Regulations and more information
New HIP regulations for 6 April 2009
On 8 December 2008, the housing minister announced some significant changes to the regulation to come into affect on 6 April 2009. Broadly the changes are:
- Inclusion of Property Information Questionnaire (PIQ), providing additional environmental information and replacing current required leasehold information.
- Ending first day marketing provisions, HIP must be completed before marketing can commence.
- Ending insurance provision for searches, recognising that insurance is no substitute for information where it is available.
- More enforcement, changes to make it easier for trading standards to identify non compliance and enforce the requirements.
More information can be found on the Government website
Scottish home report required from 1 December 2008The home report is being introduced in Scotland on 1 December 2008. New-build properties do not require a home report, however, any builder involved in part-exchange will be required to commission a Home Report for the part exchanged property. NHBC provide a Home Report service for Part Exchange properties. Please contact us for more information.
Unlike the HIP in England and Wales, local search information is not required in the home report. The report will contain the following documents
- Single survey
- Energy report
- Property questionnaire
Government information on the home report
Code for Sustainable Homes
From 1 May 2008, it is mandatory to have a Code for Sustainable Homes rating and to place this in the Home Information Pack. This will be a rating to a code level if an assessment has been completed, or a nil-rating if no assessment has been undertaken.
This currently applies only to new homes in England where the initial notice was submitted after 30 April 2008.
For more information see our section on Code for Sustainable Homes or the Government website
HIPs for all from 6 April 2008
HIPs are now required for all new build-homes in England and Wales, irrespective of the number of bedrooms or the Building Regulations in use. This has been the case since 6 April 2008.
Staying compliant with regulations
Advice on how to stay compliant with the HIP regulations
Reference material
Links to the Government website
Regulatory updates
Where can I get a HIP, or Scottish Home Report?
NHBC, with a market-leading partner, is delivering the new-build HIP and Home Report service to its registered builders and developers. Click here to for our HIP basics
Contact NHBC on: 0844 633 1000, and ask for 'Sales'.
Registered users:
Registered users can access the NHBC's HIP service by logging in here:
See left for details on how to register.
What our customers say
Order now:
Registered users can order HIPs by downloading the relevant order forms:
Please complete one form per site for new-build homes and one per plot for part-exchange.
You can return them to us by email to hips@nhbc.co.uk or by fax on 01908 747000.