Editorial

Citation

Hoxley, M. (2002), "Editorial", Structural Survey, Vol. 20 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ss.2002.11020aaa.001

Editorial

Editorial

New look journal

This, the first issue of 2002, has, you will have realised by now, a new look. MCB University Press, the Publisher, has changed its trading name to Emerald, partly to build upon the success of its electronic database that has become a market leader in electronic journal publishing. While there will always be a place for paper-based journals, the ability for practitioners, students and academics to almost instantly access any journal article they require electronically is a huge leap forward. The revamp in the Journal's image has been timed to coincide with the change in the name of the Publisher. Another innovation is that the paper-based index of all four property titles will be replaced by an electronic version from this Volume onwards. This is good news for readers, since there will now be five issues per Volume containing papers instead of the usual four.

Draft home condition report

In line with its manifesto commitment to legislate on Seller's Packs, the Government has authorised the Home Inspectors Certification Steering Group to consult upon a draft Home Condition Report. The Group members comprise the Consumers Association, Council of Mortgage Lenders, Association of British Insurers, Law Society, Property Services National Training Organisation, RICS, CIOB, ASI, ABE, IStructE, ICE, NAEA and SAVA and in addition CITB, OFT and DTLR observe meetings of the Steering Group. The draft report was released on 30 November 2001 and the consultation period concludes on 28 March 2002. The report is available via a link on: http://www.rics.org/includes/listfeaturesmoreall.html

As anticipated, the report will be in similar detail to the Home-buyers Report but will not include a valuation. The report will be an electronic document controlled through a central data bank. This will ensure that only approved and registered home inspectors will carry out the inspections and that the work of such inspectors can be monitored and audited. The inspector will have a duty to provide an impartial opinion that can be used and relied upon by a prospective buyer, mortgage lender and seller. In addition to a description of condition of each element the inspector will provide a condition rating of one of the following:

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  Satisfactory. In an acceptable condition and not in need of repair.

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  Repair needed. Not a significant or immediate repair item.

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  Early repair needed. Not significant but an early repair item.

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  Significant repair needed. The part of the building needs attention or investigation to prevent deterioration of the fabric of the building or threat to personal safety.

The report will also include a Summary of Rating 3 and 4 Defects. Section H of the report is an Energy Report and is very detailed, including actual and potential SAP ratings and estimated (and potential) heating costs and CO₂ emissions. While any surveyor currently carrying out a Home-buyers Survey is likely to be capable of passing the general part of any registration test, many are likely to require additional training in completion of Section H. The introduction of the Home Condition Report will be the single most important event in the history of condition surveying. Now is your chance to have a say – do not delay!

Research assessment exercise

So the results of the RAE have been announced. (For any non-academic readers the RAE is the method by which the Government apportions research funding and is mainly based on the quality of publications.) Congratulations to the University of Salford for significantly extending its lead in the Built Environment unit of assessment – is this an example of the rich getting richer? Loughborough University has done well to claim second spot and these are the only two institutions to obtain a 5* rating. Purely by chance (or there again it probably is not!) papers submitted by members of both these institutions are appearing in this issue.

In an interesting paper, Kempton et al. present the results of field experiments to investigate the confirmation bias in house condition surveys. Chynoweth of Salford brings a legal perspective to party wall practice and in the light of a recent case law precedent advocates a "rightist" rather than a "proceduralist" approach. Wynn's paper provides an update of the legal liability for tree root damage, again following a recent court case. Cabahug and Edwards of Loughborough present the results of a pilot study into maintenance skills training, which aims to improve health and safety on construction sites, while Hoxley presents a procedural framework for residential condition surveys.

The RAE is the main incentive for academics to write papers for a publication such as this and indeed every paper in this issue has been written by an academic. As Editor I would very much welcome more papers submitted by practitioners and, if there are any aspiring writers out there, I would very much like to hear from them.

Mike Hoxley