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