The councils of West Midlands and Warwickshire work together to deliver fast electronic searches for HIPs -
With the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) on 1st August, thirteen councils in the West Midlands and Warwickshire region have launched three events to discuss their connection to an electronic search service that enables home buyers and their agents to obtain fast access to official local authority searches. From 1st August all four bedroom and larger properties will require the home information pack, and soon after it will apply to all residential properties.
Nigel Hemmings, Local Land Charges Manager at Birmingham City Council said: “Many home movers are not aware that they have a choice of different searches. You should ask your solicitor to look carefully at the search in your future HIP to ensure that it provides the level of protection that you need. If you ask your solicitor to ensure you have a full council search, you can rest assured that you will find out about any restrictions that affect the value or desirability of your property up-front. The councils of West Midlands and Warwickshire have risen to the HIPs challenge. Home movers will not have to choose between the guaranteed quality of an official council search and speed of search turnaround time to enable fast marketing of their property – they can have both.”
When someone buys or sells a property, one of the processes they have to complete is a local land charges search from the records held by the local council. All of the councils in the West Midlands and Warwickshire are electronically connected to a national search service called NLIS (National Land Information Service), which enables them to reduce the time it takes to process searches. Using NLIS, the average turnaround time for searches in West Midlands and Warwickshire is just five days.
Within the next few months, all home sellers will have to produce a HIP before putting their property on the market. The availability of a search in the HIP helps home buyers make an informed decision about whether or not to choose a property by revealing any restrictions or planned developments affecting a property.
The electronic search service was launched to solicitors and estate agents at three events: 14th May, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council; 16th May, Birmingham Repertory Theatre and 22nd May, Coventry City Council. Solicitors and estate agents were informed of how the electronic service will help them complete the search element of HIPs quickly, whilst saving them time and money.
The thirteen councils working together to host the events are:
Birmingham City Council
Coventry City Council
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council
North Warwickshire Borough Council
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
Redditch Borough Council
Rugby Borough Council
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Tamworth Borough Council
Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council
Warwick District Council
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