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Home Condition Report

A Home Condition Report contains information about the physical condition of a property, which sellers, buyers and lenders will be able to rely on legally as an accurate report.

It is similar to a Homebuyer Survey and can let the seller and buyer be aware of any works or repairs that are needed to the property.

The report:

• must be carried out by a certified Home Inspector
• must be written in plain English and not include technical jargon
• gives you comprehensive information on work or repairs needed to the property, reducing the chance of nasty surprises later on

Benefits of a Home Condition Report

Sellers

You have an early opportunity to carry out repair work on the property or get quotes before marketing your property. By giving buyers a clearer idea of your property, it reduces the risk of a buyer pulling out later in the process due to an unforeseen problem and gives your property an additional selling point.

Buyers

If the seller has included a Home Condition Report, you can use it at the beginning of the home-buying process to reduce the risk of being faced with unexpected repair bills and other surprises when you buy the property.

Buyers and their mortgage lenders have a legal right to rely on the report, so you can give the report to lenders when they make their valuation. This means they may not have to repeat a detailed site inspection at your cost.

Sample Home Condition Report

To see a sample Home Condition Report follow the link below.

• Download a sample Home Condition Report (PDF, 435K) Opens new window
• Help with PDF files

Find a Home Inspector

The report must be carried out by a certified Home Inspector. To find a Home Inspector follow the link below.

• Domestic Energy Assessors and Home Inspectors

Legal summary

HIPs may contain some complex documents that can be difficult to understand. The HIP can contain an optional legal summary, which is just a simple summary of all the legal documents. A solicitor or HIP provider will be able to produce a legal summary.

Home contents forms

The Home contents form lets sellers give buyers information on a range of matters relating to the property.

It is usual for sellers to declare which fixtures and fittings and other contents of the property are:

• included in the sale
• excluded from the sale
• subject to negotiation
  

• Download a sample home contents form (DOC, 138K) Opens new window

Searches

The standard searches need to be included in HIPs, but they can also contain non-standard searches. This can often speed up the sale of the property.

For example, it's standard practice to obtain a mining search in areas where coal mining has taken place. Sellers in these areas could save time if they provide this search in the HIP.

Other non-standard searches cover rights of way, ground stability and actual or potential environmental hazards such as flooding and contaminated land.

Guarantees and warranties

Guarantees and warranties for work already carried out on your home, such as damp proofing, may be included in the HIP.

Compulsory documents

Check the required documents that must be included in a HIP.

• HIPs: compulsory items