BRE Certification, an independent third party certification body, has been appointed by The Department for Communities and local government (DCLG) to operate a certification scheme for Home Inspectors. Under this scheme, which is part of the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) in June 2007, Home Inspectors will be employed to prepare Home Condition reports (HCR) and energy performance Certificates (EPC) which will be made available to potential house purchasers. To protect consumers the DCLG has set rigorous standards which define the requirements and responsibilities expected of Home Inspectors.

The BRE Certification scheme has been designed to ensure that these rigorous standards are adhered to.

The BRE Certification scheme is the home of the independent Home Inspector as it will provide the quality framework that is needed, which together with technical support from BRE specialists, will allow them to operate independently in an open market.

BRE Certification is delighted that many professional bodies and the industry have welcomed the BRE Certification scheme.

Carol Atkinson, Managing Director of BRE Certification said 'We are now open for business and ready to accept applications from potential Home Inspectors'.

'Our skills, expertise and experience in certification puts us in a unique position to deliver this scheme'.

'It will also complement the work of our sister company BRE who deliver training, assessment, advice, information and technical support to home inspectors'.

The certification scheme will assess Home Inspectors against the requirements set out in the DCLG standards.

This will include a review of appropriate qualifications as well as other aspects such as criminal records and financial probity.

Successful applicants will be awarded certificates and placed on a central register.

Certification will be maintained through sampling and checking the HCR's and EPC's to demonstrate continued compliance with the scheme standards and requirements.

BRE Certification will be using a specialist partner, Quest Associates, to deliver IT systems to support the Scheme.

Quest Associates has supplied IT and computer systems relating to UK property transactions for over 20 years and is the market leader in the provision of mortgage valuation systems with its products currently handling in excess of 2,000,000 cases per year in over 7,000 installed sites.

This represents over GBP200 billion of lending security.