HIPs for leasehold and unregistered properties

from Chester Energy Assessors

Leashold and unregistered HIPs

Leasehold and unregistered have extra complications compared with the more usual registered freehold properties and Chester Energy Assessors are experienced at providing HIPs on both these categories. Many HIP providers are known to take a lot longer and charge an unreasonable premium in these cases, but we are pleased to say that our turnaround time is largely unaffected and we charge just £25 extra for either type compared with our prices for freehold homes. Please contact us on 01244-351644 or email us for prices or more information on HIPs.

Leasehold HIPs

Most flats are leasehold and selling such a property has some extra complications compared with freehold, which is the usual status for houses. Leasehold means some other person or organisation has the freehold and effectively owns the land and the exterior and common parts to the building. More recently, some newly built flats have had the status of "commonhold", which was meant to be a simplification of the leasehold regulations, but these are still rare.

There are two compulsory additions to the HIP pack compared with freehold HIPs, namely:

  • Inclusion of an official copy of the lease (or a copy of equal legal status)
  • Answers to the extra questions of the sellers Property Information Questionnaire relating to the lease and management of the building

When HIPs were first introduced, several other documents relating to the lease and building management were compulsory components, but they have since been made voluntary. We at Chester Energy Assessors believe that potential buyers are particularly interested at an early stage in the costs of managing the building and what their future commitments are likely to be. For this reason we encourage our customers to provide some of these extra documents to us for inclusion in the HIPs we produce. This we will do at no extra charge. Particular documents that we consider useful are:

  • The last one or two years accounts of the management committee or company
  • Minutes of the last one or two meetings between the residents and the management committee or company
  • Any correspondence concerning upcoming large or unusual expenses, e.g. for new windows
  • Correspondence, if there is any, on possible purchase of the freehold by the building residents

Unregistered HIPs

Most properties in England and Wales are "registered", which means there are records at the Land Registry (usually electronic) about who owns it and whether there are any restrictions on what can be done with it or on selling (the Register), as well as a map confirming the location and boundaries of the property (the Title Plan). HIPs include these two Land Registry documents if it's registered, and they are important in proving ownership and the right to sell. There are some properties, however, which are "unregistered", i.e. these documents don't exist and alternative documentary proof of ownership is required. Chester Energy Assessors is particularly experienced in providing HIPs on unregistered homes. In the Chester and west Cheshire area, less than 5% are unregistered; in Deeside, Flintshire and Wrexham the number is quite a bit higher, especially if the property has not changed hands for 20 years or more. The two extra documents required to replace the Register and Title Plan are:

  • A search of the index map (SIM) which is provided by the Land Registry, confirming that the property is not registered
  • An epitome of title

The epitome of title is a long collection of documents proving ownership. In the first instance, the seller should ask their solicitor who holds the title deeds to provide a copy to Chester Energy Assessors. Alternatively, if all the relevant documents are in the posession of the seller, they can be sent to us directly (preferably in electronic format). As a minimum, we would require the following, but each case is different:

  • Mortgage documents from time of purchase
  • Letter confirming discharge of mortgage
  • Conveyance to the current seller from the previous owner
  • Earlier conveyances if last one was less than 15 years ago
  • Land charge searches at last conveyance
  • If the property was originally in joint names or in the name of someone deceased and has since transferred to the surviving partner then a copy of the transfer is required

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"Don't feel obliged to get your HIP through your estate agent"

Email us for prices or more information on HIPs
or telephone 01244-351644