Home Inspector (UK)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A Home Inspector in the United Kingdom (or more precisely in England and Wales), is an inspector certified to carry out the Home Condition Reports that, it is expected, will become part of the new Home Information Pack.
On July 18, 2006, the Government announced the postponement of compulsory Home Condition Reports, which had been due to become part of the Home Information Packs on 1 June 2007, leaving the future for the inspectors somewhat uncertain [1]. It is expected, however, that they will be required to carry out the Energy Performance Certificatation, which remains a mandatory part of the packs.
[edit] Training
Home inspectors are required to complete the ABBE Diploma in Home Inspection to show they meet the standards set out for NVQ/VRQ competence based assessment (Level 4). At the time of writing (July 2006?) nearly 3,000 candidates who have registered with training and assessment centres. The government have suggested that between 7,500 and 8,000 qualified and licenced home inspectors will be needed to meet the annual demand of nearly 1,000,000 home information packs.
[edit] Consumer protection
The intention is that inspectors will carry insurance to protect consumers that rely on their inspections, however as of July 2006 no insurance is available to a home inspector that is not already a member of a professional body. There is also no official scheme to protect consumers from uninsured inspectors should there be a problem with a report which a buyer has relied upon. This aspect is under review by Yvette Cooper on behalf of the Government.
