Building
Control and Standards
Chartered Institute of Building - CIOB Response to HIP Farce
The Government's decision to delay the
implementation date of the Home Information Pack (HIP) by two
months, so that it should apply initially to four bedroom
properties and above, is destroying credibility in the HIP which
is close to becoming a farce.
John Hughes Chairman of the CIOB's Faculty of Architecture and
Surveying Board said, "We are particularly disappointed that the
Government appears to have gone for a quick fix solution and has
not taken a long term view that would have provided the property
buying public with the transparent system that it has been
promised and that is long overdue.
"The release yesterday of the Governments own figures of the
number of candidates in training: 2,500 training, a further
3,200 have already passed their home inspector or domestic
energy assessor exams. Of those, 1,500 have been accredited or
have applied for accreditation but only 520 of these have been
fully accredited confirm that the problem is not a lack of
candidates coming forward for the new role but an unrealistic
time frame for those candidates to complete the assessment or
training process.
"It should also be noted that many of those who initially
committed to the Diploma in Home Inspection are not interested
in working as Energy Assessors and that has also compounded the
problem of candidates who are not completing the process
"The cost to the individual should not be overlooked, the number
of candidates in training equates to a considerable personal
investment by the individuals concerned, both in time, money and
stress, and how many of us could afford not to work for several
months without any prior notice?
"The CIOB would once again urge government to introduce the HIP
on a voluntary basis for a twelve month period, re-introduce the
Home Condition Report as a mandatory element, and work with all
stakeholders including CIC, Professional Bodies and Assessment
Centres, not just the chosen few, if they wish to achieve a
successful strategy for the introduction of the Home Information
Pack."
Email:
stownsend@ciob.org.uk