Government announces new Energy Inspectors role

Following the scrapping of Home Condition Reports (HCRs) as a mandatory part of the Home Information Pack, the government has announced plans for the introduction of a new Energy Inspector qualification. This will allow anyone qualified to produce the Energy Performance Certificate, which is to remain in the hips pack as a mandatory element.

This has come as a major blow to those already qualified or still training to be Home Inspectors, the qualification needed to produce the Energy Performance Certificate is already included in the Home Inspector training but many feel the new Energy Inspectors will be able to undercut prices, as the time it takes to train and the costs are likely to be significantly higher for them.

A spokesperson for the Department for Communities and Local Government says: “There are still opportunities for home inspectors. As it is, only fully qualified inspectors can carry out the Energy Performance Certificate, as this is the only qualification on offer. With this diploma home inspectors could carry out the energy performance certificate and the Home Condition Report. The new qualification will provide the training to carry out just the EPC”