Home Condition Reports and Surveys

A Home Condition Report (HCR) is an entirely new product in the property market. Introduced in the 2004 Housing Act, it is an easily-understood survey, prepared specifically so that Homeowners and Homebuyers can determine the condition of a particular property. It can only be prepared by a Certified Home Inspector. Originally designed with the intention of enabling the Vendor to provide a survey alongside the Energy Performance Certificate or 'EPC' (which is now mandatory), it is now possible for Homebuyers to commission the report independently of the EPC. This is called a Home Condition Survey.

The intention of these surveys is to provide an objective and unbiased report of the property's condition (as opposed to the value). Equally importantly, the reports provide a full reinstatement estimate, which give owners or prospective purchasers the cost of rebuilding the property for insurance purposes.

Within the reports, each part of the building is given a specific rating (termed a Condition Rating):

1. No repair is currently needed. Normal Maintenance must be carried out
2. Repairs or replacements are needed, but the Inspector does not consider these serious or urgent
3. These are defects that are either serious and/or require urgent repair or replacement