Home Information Packs

HOW DO I GET A HOME INFORMATION PACK

The Home Information Pack Programme is being delivered by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), working in partnership with industry stakeholders, including the National Association of Estate Agents, the Law Society, the Council of Mortgage Lenders, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Association of Home Information Pack Providers and the Land Registry, to develop and deliver the Programme in time for the 1 August 2007 implementation date.

Each industry sector has a key role to play in delivering Home Information Packs to consumers.

Most sellers will use the services of estate agents who in turn will appoint Home Information Pack providers to assemble the components of the Pack. It is likely therefore that the estate agent or pack provider will commission an Inspector on a seller’s behalf to produce the Energy Performance Certificate or Home Condition Report. Sellers can also commission an Inspector directly and they can be expected to advertise locally and nationally in the same way as surveying firms do now. Certification Schemes for Home Inspectors will be required to hold public registers of their members as a condition of their approval and the public will be able to search the registers, through a single point of access, to find a Home Inspector operating in their area.

How can we trust Inspectors
Buyers, sellers and lenders will have a contractual right to rely on the Home Condition Report. If there are errors in the reports, consumer-friendly means of redress will be available to buyers and sellers. All Inspectors will be required to have suitable indemnity insurance cover. The conduct of Inspectors will be regulated by Certification Schemes operating to standards set and monitored by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

Certification Schemes will be approved by the Secretary of State. The Housing Act 2004 requires that the Secretary of State must be satisfied that a Certification Scheme contains appropriate provision for ensuring that members of the Scheme are properly qualified and insured. Certification Schemes will ensure that the necessary checks are made before a prospective Inspector is added to their public register. The Certification Schemes will monitor the standards of their members and Government will put in place procedures to monitor the compliance of Certification Schemes with standards set by Government.