It might surprise you that currently anyone can call themselves a home inspector in Ontario. That is a scary proposition since most home buyers depend on the opinion of a home inspector before making one of the biggest purchases of their lives. More than 1,500 home inspectors operate in the province yet there are no mandatory training or technical standards for us to meet.
To confuse things further, there are a large number of Home Inspection Professional Associations with differing requirements for membership. While some require a college education, mentoring and peer reviewed inspections; others only require a few online courses and no proctored exams. As a consumer it’s almost impossible to tell the difference between the two because the designation titles are designed to give the impression of rigorous testing.
The good news is that The Ontario Ministry of Consumer Services has formed a panel of industry experts to recommend licensing requirements for the home inspection industry. The panel members have made 35 recommendations. These recommendations reflect the Consensus of the panel based on thorough discussions and debate.
Highlights of the recommendations in the report include:
- Home inspectors should be regulated in Ontario and be called Licensed Home Inspectors.
- There should be a clear definition and standard for home inspections.
- Qualifications to become a licensed home inspector should include passing a written exam, a field test and experience requirements. Only licensed home inspectors should be allowed to conduct home inspections. Ongoing professional development should be required so home inspectors stay up to date.
- A delegated administrative authority, overseen by government, with a full range of regulatory functions should be created to license and regulate home inspectors. Transition to the regulated environment should take place over 18 months with a fair and transparent process for home Inspectors to become licensed.
- Consumer protection should be improved by:
- increasing consumer awareness by providing information on what service is and is not provided providing public access to a centralized registry of licensed home inspectors
- developing a code of ethics that outlines expected behavior and conduct, including disclosure of referral or incentives programs to all parties
- introducing mandatory insurance requirement for home inspectors that includes errors and omissions and commercial general liability coverage.
- setting standards for content and quality of home inspection reports, contracts and disclosures
- having a complaints and dispute resolution process for consumers, including the right to appeal decisions
Licensing, if done properly, will improve the industry for both our clients and home inspectors. My concern is that government competency standards will be so low that many inspectors with substandard skills could get a reputational lift in the form of an official stamp of approval.
