Housing and Regeneration Act 2008

281 Authorised assessors

(1) The assessment of the sustainability of a residential property is to be carried out for the purposes of this Chapter by an authorised assessor.

(2) The appropriate national authority may by regulations make provision about authorised assessors.

(3) The regulations must specify the persons or descriptions of persons who are to be authorised assessors.

(4) Subsections (5) to (9) apply if regulations under subsection (2) provide for authorised assessors to be persons accredited under an approved accreditation scheme.

(5) The regulations may make provision about accreditation schemes.

(6) The regulations may, in particular, provide for—

(a) the approval by the appropriate national authority of one or more accreditation schemes (whether established by the appropriate national authority or another person),

(b) the withdrawal by the appropriate national authority of any such approval,

(c) the charging of fees under accreditation schemes.

(7) Any regulations of the kind mentioned in subsection (6)(a) must require the appropriate national authority to be satisfied, before approving an accreditation scheme, that the scheme contains appropriate provision—

(a) for ensuring that members of the scheme are fit and proper persons who are qualified (by their education, training and experience) to carry out assessments,

(b) for ensuring that a code of conduct for members of the scheme is maintained and published,

(c) for ensuring that members of the scheme have in force suitable indemnity insurance,

(d) for facilitating the resolution of complaints against members of the scheme,

(e) for requiring certificates or other documents given by members of the scheme to be entered on a register under section 282,

(f) for the keeping of a public register of the members of the scheme, and

(g) for such other purposes as may be specified in the regulations.

(8) Subsection (7) does not limit the matters which the regulations may require the appropriate national authority to be satisfied about before approving an accreditation scheme.

(9) Regulations under subsection (5) may, in particular, require or authorise an approved accreditation scheme to contain provision about any matter relating to sustainability certificates or other documents with which the scheme is concerned (including the terms on which members of the scheme may undertake to produce such documents).