Memorandum by Surveyors and Valuers Accreditation
Ltd (DHB 34)
1. Surveyors and Valuers Accreditation Ltd
(SAVA) is a standards setting body for practitioners undertaking
surveys and valuations, mainly in the residential property sector.
2. The organisation was established in 1999,
and has, since that time, set benchmark standards to which all
residential surveyors who subscribe must work.
3. SAVA is grant funded by the former DTLR
and now the ODPM to undertake the essential research necessary
to ensure that a robust and consumer conscious report and licensing
framework can be established for the planned Home Condition Report
part of the improvements to the homebuying process.
4. SAVA's representations relate solely
to matter relating to the Home Condition Report and the certification
scheme to support it.
5. The research undertaken by SAVA has been
assisted by a Steering Group of industry and consumer representatives,
and the detailed requirements have been broken down into 6 working
groups, also made up of consumer and industry representation together
with specialist advice as and where required. A list of the bodies
represented on the Steering and Working Groups is at Annex 1.
6. The research has helped formulate future
thinking on protecting the consumer, and some the research results
are listed in these representations
7. THE HOME
CONDITION REPORT
The recommended report is designed to assist
all those who read it to find their way through it with ease.
It is intended to be transparent, informing the reader in clear
unambiguous terminology what the report is designed to achieve,
how far the inspection goes and what is not included.
It adopts a simple rating system that enables
readers to focus on those defects at the property that are either
serious or urgent, whilst also setting out the actual condition
of each of the elements or parts of the property.
Electronic production and delivery of reports
is expected to prevent delay in marketing property. This type
of electronic reporting is already available and is being used
in some of the voluntary "home information pack" initiatives
being undertaken around the country. It is well received, consistent,
easy to follow and jargon free.
8. PROTECTING
THE CONSUMER
Research into the most appropriate means of
providing protection for the consumer is well advanced. The following
recommendations are made
All Home Inspectors will be licensed. To achieve
a license they will:
— have achieved a vocationally related
qualification (VRQ) at the same level as NVQ level 4. This will
include completing an assessment programme, undertaking a number
of inspections, and successfully completing a final test.
(The qualification is described by some academic
institutions as being at a similar level to a foundation degree.)
— Conform to a code of ethics and conduct,
which deals with:
— Maintenance of knowledge levels.
— Conduct as a home inspector.
— Disclosure of appropriate convictions.
— Disclosure of complaints and
claims.
— Complaints handling requirements.
— Maintenance of indemnity insurance.
Home Inspectors will be required to renew their
license at regular intervals, probably every three years.
9. SOURCING HOME
INSPECTORS AND
TRAINING
Home Inspectors will come from a range of backgrounds.
The principle of "it does not matter where you start, its
where you finish that counts" is being adopted in the quest
for the relevant pool of potential home inspectors.
To date, many professional and trade bodies
(see Annex 2) have identified the interest of their members in
undertaking the essential training to become home inspectors and
look at the opportunity as a means of widening their skills and
business base.
It is estimated that some 7,500 home inspectors
will be required, some working full time, others working as part
of another role. For those with existing experience in similar
work, training will be limited to updating their skill base and
locking on any new features of the HCR that they have not previously
undertaken, such as collecting information for the production
of an energy assessment. For those who come to this new role from
related backgrounds or with no experience at all the training
time will be longer, and in some cases in excess of two years.
A mapping exercise of all appropriate existing qualifications
will be undertaken.
Universities and colleges are keen to provide
the required range of training products. (See Annex 3).
Substantive research on the sources of future
HIs is due for completion before the end of May 2003, however
we have confidence from the initial feed back that an adequate
number of home inspectors will be found and can be trained in
time for the mandatory introduction of HCRs.
10. INDEMNITY
INSURANCE
Indemnity insurance for surveyors and valuers,
along with other professionals, has become increasingly difficult
to obtain, and substantial rises in premiums are matched by even
larger rises in the uninsured excess to be paid by the insured.
These excesses are now a minimum of £5,000 and frequently
£10,000 or more.
Research undertaken by SAVA Ltd reveals that
"condition related claims" average under £2,000
in settlement (excluding legal and claim handling costs). Effectively
providing Professional Indemnity Insurance via the existing route
with excesses of £5,000 plus would provide little protection
to the consumer.
Further research shows that a "self managed
indemnity fund", paid for through a charge per report and
administered through the Home Inspectors Certification Scheme,
with claims being determined either via an independent assessor
or ombudsman or through the traditional litigation route is a
sustainable alternative, which will give a better deal to both
the consumer and the home inspector.
11. CONSUMER
TRUST FOR
A HOME
CONDITION REPORT
It is presently estimated that some 22% to 25%
of homebuyers commission a survey on their purchase. The remainder
rely on the lender's valuation, or nothing at all. Lenders do
not always provide their clients with a copy of the valuation
(C&G have operated a non-disclosure policy for many years),
and there is a trend for this practice to expand, particularly
with new methods of desktop valuation being developed.
Buyers will be better informed about the property
they hope to buy, and have greater information than they presently
receive. The argument that buyers will not trust a report prepared
for a seller has to be addressed, and SAVA Ltd undertook research
at the Property Show, at Excel, on March 1-3 2002.
Face to face interviews were held with home
buyers and sellers. Some 202 interviews were undertaken and 150
of those interviewed had previously sold or bought a house before.
One of the questions asked was "If the
seller provided a Home Condition Report and you knew that the
home inspector was responsible to you, the buyer, for it's content,
would you be prepared to rely upon it?
The responses were
Yes—127 (84.7%)
No—12 (8.0%)
Don't know—11 (7.3%)
These figures are similar to those published
in late 2002 by Yorkshire Bank.
The balance of the results of these interviews
is at Annex 4
12. CONCLUSION
SAVA is confident that the Home Condition Report
and the Certification Scheme for Home Inspectors will provide
consumers with a valuable and reliable product, upon which they
will come to rely. The Certification Scheme will be robust and
transparent and as a result of starting with a clean sheet, it
is entirely practical to focus both the report and the support
for it on entirely up to date ideas and technology, free from
the trappings of previous survey products.
Annex 1
LIST OF
BODIES REPRESENTING
CONSUMERS AND
INDUSTRY PARTICIPATING
IN THE
WORK OF
THE STEERING
AND WORKING
GROUPS
Consumers Association;
Law Society;
Council of Mortgage Lenders;
Council for Licensed Conveyancers;
Association of British Insurers;
Property Services National Training Organisation;
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors;
National Association of Estate Agents;
Chartered Institute of Building;
Association of Building Engineers;
Institute of Maintenance and Building Management;
British Institute of Architectural Technologists;
Royal Institute of British Architects;
Institute of Civil Engineers;
Institute of Structural Engineers.
Annex 2
PROFESSIONAL AND
TRADE BODIES
THAT HAVE
MEMBERS WITH
POTENTIAL INTEREST
IN BECOMING
HOME INSPECTORS
Association of Building Engineers;
British Institute of Architectural Technologists;
British Institute of Facilities Management;
British Pest Control Association;
British Wood Preserving and Damp Proofing Association;
Chartered Institute of Building;
Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers;
Construction Industry Standards Council;
Construction Industry Training Board;
Federation of Building Specialist Contractors;
Federation of Master Builders;
House Building Federation;
Housing Potential (UK) Ltd;
Institute of Clerks of Works;
Institute of Housing;
Institute of Management and Building Maintenance;
Institute of Revenues Rating and Valuation;
National Association of Estate Agents;
National Federation of Builders;
National House Building Federation;
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors;
FURTHER ORGANISATIONS
TO BE
APPROACHED FOR
FUTURE INVOLVEMENT
Association of Consultant Building Surveyors;
Association of Planning Supervisors;
Association for Project Management;
Institute of Construction Management;
Local Government Technical Advisers Group;
Royal Society for the Promotion of Health;
Annex 2
UNIVERSITIES AND
COLLEGES CURRENTLY
RESEARCHING THE
PROVISION OF
HOME INSPECTOR
TRAINING:
University of Central England—Birmingham;
University of Western England—Bristol;
South Bank University—London;
Sheffield Hallam University—Sheffield;
John Moores University—Liverpool;
University of Westminster—London;
Anglia Polytechnic University—Chelmsford.
Annex 3
QUESTIONNAIRE USED
AT THE
PROPERTY SHOW—EXCEL—MARCH
2002
202 interviews undertaken
Have you bought and sold a home before? Yes
150, No 52.
Approximately how long did the transaction take?
| Less than 1 month |
2 |
| 1—2 months | 22 |
| 2—3 months | 37 |
| 3—4 months | 39 |
| 4—6 months | 25 |
| Over 6 months | 15 |
| |
Did you find the experience more stressful than you had expected?
Were you satisfied with the process?
Did you have a mortgage?
Did your lender give you a copy of the mortgage valuation?
Do you feel that the mortgage valuation provided adequate
information about the condition of the property?
Did you or will you have a private survey undertaken?
Do you think it is a good idea to have all the information
on a property you wish to buy up front?
If the seller provided a Home Condition Report, and you knew
that the Home Inspector was responsible to you, the buyer, for
its content, would you be prepared to rely on it.
| 
