Housing Act 2004

163 Contents of home information packs

(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations prescribing—

(a) the documents which are required or authorised to be included in the home information pack for a residential property; and

(b) particular information which is required or authorised to be included in, or which is to be excluded from, any such document.

(2) A document prescribed under subsection (1) must be one that the Secretary of State considers would disclose relevant information.

(3) Any particular information required or authorised to be included in a prescribed document must be information that the Secretary of State considers to be relevant information.

(4) In this section “relevant information” means information about any matter connected with the property (or the sale of the property) that would be of interest to potential buyers.

(5) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (4), the information which the Secretary of State may consider to be relevant information includes any information about—

(a) the interest which is for sale and the terms on which it is proposed to sell it;

(b) the title to the property;

(c) anything relating to or affecting the property that is contained in—

(i) a register required to be kept by or under any enactment (whenever passed); or

(ii) records kept by a person who can reasonably be expected to give information derived from those records to the seller at his request (on payment, if required, of a reasonable charge);

(d) the physical condition of the property (including any particular characteristics or features of the property);

(e) the energy efficiency of the property;

(f) any warranties or guarantees subsisting in relation to the property;

(g) any taxes, service charges or other charges payable in relation to the property.

(6) The regulations may require or authorise the home information pack to include—

(a) replies the seller proposes to give to prescribed pre-contract enquiries; and

(b) documents or particular information indexing or otherwise explaining the contents of the pack.

(7) The regulations may require a prescribed document—

(a) to be in such form as may be prescribed; and

(b) to be prepared by a person of a prescribed description on such terms (if any) as may be prescribed.

(8) The terms mentioned in subsection (7)(b) may include terms which enable provisions of the contract under which the document is to be prepared to be enforced by—

(a) a potential or actual buyer;

(b) a mortgage lender; or

(c) any other person involved in the sale of the property who is not a party to that contract.

(9) The regulations may—

(a) provide for the time at which any document is to be included in or removed from the home information pack; and

(b) make different provision for different areas, for different descriptions of properties or for other different circumstances (including the manner in which a residential property is marketed).

(10) In this section “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under this section.