The Home Condition Report

The Home Condition Report is designed to be an objective report on the condition of the property that can be relied upon by buyers, sellers and mortgage lenders. It will be written in Plain English in a standard format and will describe the general condition of the property taking account of its age, character and location; how energy efficient it is; and any defects or other matters requiring attention.

The Home Condition Report is designed to be a 'mid-range' survey, similar to the current Homebuyer Survey and Valuation - not as detailed as a Building Survey (sometimes known as a 'full structural survey') but a lot more extensive than a mortgage lender's valuation inspection.

The HCR will contain 8 sections:

Section A  (General Information)
This will be an introduction with property address, date of inspection etc. together with a brief description of condition ratings

Section B  (Summary)
A brief summary of the property including accommodation. A summary of the condition ratings and the Insurance reinstatement cost

Section C  (Conveyancing and Health & Safety Issues)
Legal Issues to be brought to the attention of the Conveyancer, Health & Safety Issues revealed during the inspection and environmental issues

Section D  (Outside Condition)
A report on the outside elements of the property including Chimneys stacks, roof covering, rainwater pipes and gutters, main walls etc including a statement and condition rating for each.

Section E  (Inside Condition)
A report on the inside elements of the property including Roof space, ceilings, internal walls and partitions, floors etc including a statement and condition rating for each.

Section F  (Services)
A visual inspection of the Electricity, gas, water, heating, drainage. As with the Outside and inside elements, a statement and condition rating is applied to each

Section G  (Grounds)
Condition of the grounds, boundary walls, outbuildings and common facilities.

Section H  (An energy report and checklist)
An energy report to rate the home's current energy efficiency, using the Government’s Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP). The more energy efficient home will have a higher SAP rating, lower fuel bills and lower carbon dioxide emissions. The Energy Report would also provide information on tailored, cost-effective energy efficiency improvements.

The Home Condition Report must be no more than three months old when marketing starts, but there will be no duty to update it once marketing is underway. The Report provides a ‘snapshot’ of the condition of a home at the time it was written. The condition of a home does not normally change quickly unless there is an intervening event such as fire or flood, so the Home Condition Report should be reliable for around six months.