'Smart home' information added to HIP-inspired form

A revised home information pack-inspired form, providing more upfront property information for prospective buyers to speed up the conveyancing process, has been unveiled by a stakeholder group helping the government.

Unique property refence numbers and smart home system information have been added to the Buyer’s and Seller’s Property Information form (BASPI), designed by the upfront information branch of the Home Buying and Selling Group.

The form now includes requirements such as the unique property reference number, shared ownership information, leasehold details, spray foam insulation, smart home systems information and whether the property has a digital logbook – which will have to be transferred on completion – and where it is held.

This is the third version of the form, which comprises two parts.

Part A, to ensure the property is ‘market ready’, covers information about disputes and complaints, alterations and changes, notices, specialist issues, fixtures and fittings, utilities and services, insurance, boundaries, and rights and information arrangements.

Part B covers legal ownership, legal boundaries, services crossing other property, energy, guarantees, warranties and indemnity insurances, occupiers, completion and moving.

The working group says the latest form follows on from the first of National Trading Standards’ project to disclose more material information on property listings.

The council tax band, property price and tenure must be included on all listings by the end of May. The remaining phases, which are currently being developed, will cover further information such as restrictive covenants flood risk and other factors that may affect a property.

Beth Rudolf, director of delivery at the Conveyancing Association, said: ‘National Trading Standards has been clear on what it would like to see with regards to upfront information, and it is positive to hear progress is being made here, and that the BASPI fulfils its needs.

‘The development of the Property Data Trust Framework by the technology sub-group means the data digitally collected in the BASPI can be seamlessly authenticated and shared across all of the stakeholder technology systems to avoid duplication and to have the “one source of truth” that everyone in the process can rely upon. This ensures we don’t need other "bits of paper" which include less and/or conflicting information resulting in additional enquiries delaying the process.'

Home information packs, which put sellers under a duty to provide standard information to potential buyers when marketing the property, were scrapped in 2010 after they were deemed by government to be expensive, unnecessary and stifling a then fragile housing market.