The number of trained home inspectors is likely to be just between a third and a half of the estimated requirement when Home Information Packs (HIPs) become mandatory at the beginning of June this year.
The Government estimates that between 2,500 and 4,500 properly trained inspectors will be needed to produce Energy Performance Certificates. This is in addition to the number of inspectors needed to meet demand for voluntary full Home Condition Reports. Further inspectors will be needed to prepare Energy Performance Certificates for rented properties when these become mandatory.
Yet the DCLG has told Sustainable Building that they expect about 1,500 inspectors to be fully qualified by the 1 June deadline.
Every Home Information Pack will include Energy Performance Certificates, searches and other legal documents. The full Home Condition Report was to have been a central – mandatory – element. However, because of the amount of work in getting these designed and the relevant training and accreditation schemes put in place, a ‘stripped down’ version of the Pack is being introduced first. This includes a mandatory Energy Performance Certificate, while the Home Condition Report is an optional ‘authorised document’. As the UK Government is being investigated by the European Commission for failing to implement some of the conditions of the Energy Performance in Buildings Directive (EPBD) – and in particular the energy certification of buildings – the focus has been on delivering this aspect of the HIPs first.
Qualified inspectors will carry out inspections on the energy efficiency and condition of properties. However, training schemes for the new inspectors have been slow to get off the ground.
DCLG estimates that there are about 1,000 people going through training now. A year ago, industry professionals were complaining that no standards had been published and that no training programmes were available.
The two sets of certification scheme standards (business and technical) were in fact only published by the Department on 14 June 2006.
Until then, it was not possible to design or offer any accreditation courses to would-be inspectors. BRE Certification, for example, only won a contract to run a certification scheme for Home Inspectors in mid-December.
There are currently two awarding bodies for the qualifications: the Awarding Body for the Built Environment and City & Guilds. However, a third will be announced in the next few months, according to DCLG.
Certification Schemes are responsible for ensuring that all reports produced by Home Inspectors are stored on an electronic register that will be kept by or on behalf of the Government in accordance with regulations made under the Housing Act. Access to registered Reports will be controlled by the regulations.
The certification schemes, such as the one run by BRE Certification, will assess Home Inspectors against the requirements set out in the DCLG standards. This will include a review of appropriate qualifications as well as other aspects such as criminal records and financial probity. Successful applicants will be awarded certificates and placed on a central register.
Certification will be maintained through sampling and checking the Home Condition Reports and Energy Performance Certificates to demonstrate continued compliance with the scheme standards and requirements.