Continuing as a Home Inspector

This page contains information about the ongoing aspects of being a member of the SAVA Certification Scheme.

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Continuing Professional Development | Monitoring & Compliance | Annual Checks & Renewals

Continuing Profession Development
The contract between us and you requires that you undertake sufficient Continuing Professional Development to remain competent and up to date with your skills and to meet the performance criteria in Element 1.3 of the National Occupational Standards.

If a Home Inspector becomes inactive, the SAVA Certification Scheme will still require the individual to continue to maintain appropriate Continuing Professional Development in order to remain up-to-date. In cases of prolonged illness, a schedule of updating will be jointly developed once the Home Inspector has fully recovered.

The SAVA Certification Scheme can also help Home Inspectors further their knowledge and training. Optional training courses include how to compile valuations and specialise in specific build types.

HSV/HCS Masterclass
This is a one-day course. The morning will focus on inspection techniques and recording methods and will include an inspection of a property. The afternoon will concentrate on producing the report, followed by a full discussion on all aspects of the report, including applying condition ratings and EPC data.

Who Should Attend?
These all day events are designed for qualified and trainee Home Inspectors who need to refresh their skills, or who must undertake relevant CPD to meet the requirements of their certification scheme. Non Home Inspectors will be welcome but the emphasis with be on the HSV/ HCR report format.

Find out more about the SAVA HCS here.

You will carry out a real inspection on a real property, but with other practitioners. The feedback we have received from similar events is that the opportunity to discuss the issues with other surveyors was invaluable – everybody has something to share for the benefit of all.

The course runs on 18 June and 20 June. It costs £150 for SAVA Certification Scheme members, and £200 for all other delegates.

Members click here to book your place, and non-members click here.

Other CPD courses for energy professionals

Click here for more information, or visit the NHER's training pages for information on these CPD courses:

Room areas and exposed perimeters
Social housing
Room in the roof
Non-traditional housing
RDSAP refresher
Drawing and measuring techniques

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Monitoring & Compliance
This takes two forms - the monitoring of Home Inspectors, and the monitoring of their Home Condition Reports amd Energy Performance Certificates.

Monitoring the performance of the Home Inspectors is done through their submissions regarding Continuing Professional Development. This is an automatic check carried out once a Home Inspector has submitted their annual returns to the scheme. Home Inspectors may be required to undertake additional Continuing Professional Development if there is evidence (through customer complaints or monitoring) that they are not performing adequately.

The monitoring of Home Condition Reports has three components:

Checking a sample of submitted HCRs & EPCs against the attached site notes and ensuring that the HCR or EPC complies with technical standards
Carrying out a customer satisfaction survey on a sample of all HCRs submitted by each Home Inspector. The survey will normally be carried out by a telephone interview. The aim is to establish that the Home Inspector met all the requirements of punctuality, care in executing the inspection, and courtesy in dealing with the customer
Checking a random sample of all HCRs and EPCs submitted by a Home Inspector by organising and executing a revisit and survey of the property by another Home Inspector. Discrepancies between the original and check survey will be resolved by the monitoring Home Inspector and may result in guidance to the Home Inspector on specific issues, a requirement for the Home Inspector to undertake additional training, or in extreme cases a new HCR or EPC submitted to the local register to update and correct the original HCR or EPC

The SAVA Certification Scheme will keep records of all monitoring activities so that accurate statistics can be derived and reported to DCLG as required. Monitoring events and their results will be recorded in the internal Home Inspector database. [Back to top]

Annual Checks & Renewals
The initial registration period for a Home Inspector will be for three years. Three months before the end of this period the Home Inspector will be required to make a new application for registration. The renewal process will:

Repeat the identity and criminal record check
Require a renewal of the declarations included in the initial application form
Require evidence of the Continuing Professional Development undertaken since previous registration
Review the history of consumer complaints, insurance claims and any disciplinary warning or hearings

A fee of £250 + VAT (£293.75) is required for the SAVA Certification Scheme to undertake the necessary checks and reviews upon renewal of a Home Inspector's membership. [Back to top]