A plethora of new charges will be imposed on home owners over the coming months, it was reported yesterday.
Anyone wanting to sell a house or a flat in England will be legally obliged to pay £200 to have it checked by one of 4,000-plus inspectors now undergoing training.
Ministers say allowing local officials to probe properties for their eco-friendliness and health and safety credentials will help the nine in 10 buyers who are dissatisfied with the process.
They also claim that making every homeowner prepare a Home Information Pack, to include an Energy Performance Certificate of their property, will encourage them to build ‘greener’ homes.
One firm due to cash in on homeowners’ new duties, which take effect on June 1, says the creation of two million EPCs a year offers “new” and “lucrative” opportunities for inspectors.
Home Inspectors.co.uk is telling potential new recruits that “your route to becoming a Licensed Home Inspector does not require…any relevant surveying experience or academic qualifications.”
In fact, it notes that the government’s “principle of ‘Open Access’ underpinning this new process means that literally anyone who wants to apply to become a Home Inspector may do so.”
Separately, yet due to be equally unpopular among home owners, plans have been tabled to charge higher rates of council tax for properties in ‘nice’ neighbourhoods with ‘nice’ features.
Hefty increases under a revaluation of council tax will hit tenants and homeowners who enjoy ‘peace and quiet’ in homes with ‘site positive’ features like patios, double-glazing and extensions.
Handbooks by the Valuation Office Agency, an arm of HMRC, that were used in 2005 to revaluate council tax in Wales reveal bigger tax bills for homes close to shops and bus routes.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, the government is considering rolling out the same system across England - in a move the paper estimates would hike some bills from £1,000 to £4,000.
The news coincides with reports council workers are being trained to impose £50 on-the-spot fines for any individual seen breaching the smoking ban, which comes into force on July 1.
Although a ‘softly-softly’ approach is expected at first, firms will also face £200 fines if proper signs are not displayed, while premises that continue to flout the ban could be fined up to £2,500.
Feb 20, 2007
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