The Home Condition Report, Home Inspectors and the Home Information Pack

How will consistency in reporting be achieved

One of the main challenges for the Home Inspector will be the need for producing readable reports are written in objective language, describing the defects in sufficient depth to enable them to be understood, without the need to comment on whether not these defects are likely to affect the marketability of the property. Gaining an acceptable level of consistency between Home Inspectors in general will also be crucial for the smooth running of the scheme. The Inspecting and Reporting Requirement will define these areas in much greater detail.

In his recently published book entitled "Home buyers to Home Condition Report - Making the Change", Stephen Callaghan, home inspectors .co.uk, Chief Executive, highlights the key differences between the Home Condition Reports and the RICS Homebuyer Survey and Valuation, the need for objectivity in reporting and the application of the Condition Ratings. It also provides 3 completed sample Home Condition Reports, reflecting one of the main evidence requirements forming part of the Home Inspector Diploma submission.

As consistency in reporting will be a fundamental requirement of the HCR, the government will be introducing a core of "Mandatory and preferred paragraphs" that may be used by Home Inspectors on a day-to-day basis. Home Inspectors .co.uk is the organisation tasked with developing and lead-writing the new standard paragraphs for the Government.