The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) has announced confirmation of its change to the the Home Information Pack (HIP) implementation plan, making the Home Condition Report (HCR) an authorised rather than mandatory element.
The decision not to introduce mandatory HCRs on 1 June 2007 was driven by the overriding priority of ensuring a smooth implementation that maximises benefits for consumers. The mandatory elements from next June will be the Energy Performance Certificates (EPC), searches and other legal documents. The HCR will remain part of the HIP, but as an authorised document rather than mandatory item.
Government says that HIPs are still going ahead next June and believes that there will be significant benefits to home sellers if they top up their HIPs to include full HCRs and that there are still significant employment opportunities for those training as Home Inspectors. It is estimated that from June next year between 2,500 and 4,500 properly trained inspectors will be needed to produce the EPCs required for HIPs, which is in addition to the number of inspectors needed to meet the demand for voluntary full HCRs.
Further inspectors will be needed to prepare EPCs for rented properties, when these become mandatory, at the latest from January 2009.
No decision has yet been made about the proposed Certification Schemes and HCR Register. Further market reseach is proposed of the HIPs, followed by a dry-run and trials to test concerns such as the workability of the systems, the attitudes of people towards EPCs and HCRs and the consequences and impact that they might have.
