Since it was yesterday confirmed in the coalition deal that Home Information Packs (HIPs) will be scrapped.
Home Reports are currently used in Scotland and include a single survey, which is carried out by a RICS chartered surveyor and provides details on the condition and value of the property, an EPC and a property questionnaire.
The Scottish system has been in place for over a year and has been very well received by the industry by providing consumers with better information at the right time, whilst not impacting the speed in which properties can be marketed.
According to Quest, any new solution should also include flood risk data in response to recommendations in DEFRA’s Flood and Water Management Act 2010 and Sir Michael Pitt’s flood review. Making homebuyers more aware of a property’s flood risk will assist them in making better informed purchases.
Providing better information at the right time means legal searches should be excluded and returned to the end of the process for legal professionals to manage, once a buyer is in a financial position to proceed with their purchase. Due to delays in obtaining Local Authority searches HIPs are often not available within 28 days; the new proposed solution would reduce turnaround to four days.
Certification Schemes BRE, SAVA & RICS were established to manage Home Inspectors on behalf of CLG for the implementation of Home Condition Reports. There are currently circa 1000+ Qualified or Accredited inspectors which, when combined with the already qualified RICS surveyors, can deliver the entire proposed solution.
This would therefore mean only one surveyor is then required to visit the property to conduct the EPC and Condition Survey in a single inspection rather than two.
James Sherwood-Rogers, Managing Director, Quest said:
“There would be real advantages of incorporating the contents of the Home Report in this new solution for England and Wales to deliver true transparency to consumers. It is also important to point out that there would be little cost difference for consumers, as the introduction of a condition survey would be in place of the legal searches.
"By adopting this tried and tested solution, we believe the new Government can quickly implement a solution that results in minimal disruption to the home buying and selling process, whilst maximising benefits for the consumer.”
