last updated 26th November 04
by 4ecotips.com

The government has succeeded in getting the Housing Bill through the House of Lords with the compulsory requirement for a Home Information Pack (formerly known as a Seller’s Pack) to be prepared before a home is sold.

They will be produced by a new “army” of 7500 home inspectors who will be licensed and trained by SAVA, the organisation set up to promote higher standards in residential surveying. But so far there is no indication of how much this service will cost individual home owners and landlords!

Home Information Packs will include a range of helpful information for potential purchasers, including a Home Condition Report which is designed to be an objective survey of the condition of the property that can be relied upon by buyers, sellers and mortgage lenders.

It will be written in plain English in standard format and will describe the general condition of the property taking account of its age, character location, how energy efficient it is, and any defects or other matters requiring attention.

A government amendment to the Housing Bill calls for a 20% improvement in the energy efficiency of the residential sector by 2010.

This means that through the introduction of energy reports within each Home Condition Report, the UK will fulfil its legal obligations under the EC directive on the energy performance of buildings.

Bill Scannell, SAVA’s managing director, says: “At last we will be able to measure and start to improve the energy efficiency of our existing housing stock.”

As so many home inspectors will be required to fulfil the task this will create thousands of new job opportunities.