The work of home inspectors will be contracted by home sellers on a voluntary basis and as such does not impinge on article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
The campaign to promote home information packs was funded from the home information pack programme’s service budget.
I refer the hon. Member to the statement I made to the House on 22 May 2007.
Mortgage lenders have been consulted regularly throughout the development of home information packs. The Housing Act 2004 makes it clear that the responsibility to obtain a home information pack is on the seller.
(2) what the timetable is for home information packs to become compulsory for the marketing of domestic dwellings other than four bedroom homes;
(3) whether the Government intend to consult on the proposal that home information packs will be required for a four bedroom home from 1 August before that date.
Regulations relating to home information packs and the energy performance of buildings are being laid before Parliament today. These regulations will implement home information packs, including energy performance certificates, on a phased basis in England and Wales from 1 August 2007.
The Home Information Pack (no. 2) Regulations 2007 include a number of transitional provisions that the Secretary of State outlined to Parliament on 22 May 2007. These are intended to ensure that the implementation of HIPs will be achieved in a way that ensures the availability of sufficient assessors and inspectors.
The Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2007 make the changes necessary to bring the implementation of energy performance certificates into line with home information packs from 1 August 2007.
As well as the explanatory memoranda and impact assessments that accompany the regulations, we are placing in the House Library further information about how the operational delivery of the phased roll-out will take place, building on the current progress in the certification of inspectors and accreditation of assessors.
Further consultation on the age of the Energy Performance Certificate will commence in due course.
As announced last month, EPCs and HEPs will be phased in starting with four bedroom homes and larger properties—rolling out to other sized properties once sufficient energy inspectors are in place, nationally and regionally to meet demand, taking into account market conditions and evidence from implementation. This will include the marketed sales of properties that may have been repossessed, assuming they are not covered by any other exceptions.
HIs and DBAs are required to join approved accreditation schemes before working. All accreditation schemes have codes of conduct and systems in place to avoid conflicts of interest. There is a clear duty for accreditation schemes to ensure that checks including criminal records have been carried out as well as checks such as references. These checks are stronger than those carried out on other groups who have access to people’s homes such as gas inspectors. We consulted the police who were content with this approach.
The Department will carry out a public consultation this summer on what, in the longer term, the maximum age of an Energy Performance Certificate within a Home Information Pack should be when residential property is first marketed for sale. This consultation will be in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance and include an impact assessment to estimate the costs and benefits for a range of validity periods from three months up to 10 years.