With effect from 21 May 2010, it will be easier to get your house on the property market, as it will no longer be necessary for a Seller to obtain a Home Information Pack (HIP) before he or she can put his or her property up for sale.

"This is excellent news for both sellers and buyers", said Richard Whiteley, a conveyancing partner in Ellis-Fermor & Negus solicitors. "With the exception of the Energy Performance Certificate, the Home Information Pack did not add anything to the conveyancing transaction that was not already there. They simply added further complications into the process.

"It is not unusual for searches or title information in the HIP to be sub-standard, and for people to have to wait weeks for a HIP to be supplied. Now that the supply of title information and the searches will go back to the solicitors, we should see a rise again in the quality and relevance of the documentation supplied. This move will reduce the cost and time taken in the transaction in many circumstances, not increase them, as has been suggested by some in the HIP production industry."

Although it will no longer be necessary to have a HIP, sellers will still need to produce an Energy Performance Certificate within 28 days of the property going on the market.  Richard Whiteley commented, "If sellers don't have an Energy Performance Certificate, they should contact their solicitor or Estate Agent, who will either be able to arrange one for them, or put them in touch with a local assessor".

For more information about Ellis Fermor and Negus, please visit their website here: www.ellis-fermor.co.uk