CHAPI not Happy

So true!! Try to hire an electrician, plumber, etc. around these parts now…you’ll be waiting weeks to months if it’s a small job. An aquaintance called his brother to come from 120 km away to install his new electric hot water tank as the electricians/plumbers he called didn’t want the job. No problems with these licensed vocations.

Actually…locally, the carpenters’ union has been putting on free 8 week introductory courses to any who qualify with enough skills (reading/writing/ciphering) since the trade schools are not turning out enough pre-trained people and there aren’t enough licensed carpenters around.

Please correct me if I am wrong but as far as I know the trades do not have to hold a journeyman ticket to do work. If Home Inspectors get licensed you will be punished if you work without a license.

Lawrence Olsen

In Nova Scotia (if I remember correctly), electricians, gasfitters, mechanics, masons and a couple of others must have trade tickets to work.

The trade ticket should also have CE’s some how included. I’m consulting (possibly litigating now) on a $800,000 1 year old home with severe rot in 1 wall, a too small heating/cooling system, an undersized HRV, not enough insulation in the attic (according to specs) and on and on. There have been 3 engineers, a Phd mycologist, the warranty corp, an energy auditor and myself on site so far. If the builder/developer had some formal carpentry/building training and his men were licensed carpenters with regular upgrading, I know that at least some of this disaster would not have occurred. The same would apply to the HVAC problems!!

Licensing may not be the most palatable method but it’s better than having just anyone claiming to be a…whatever, and it may keep more of our houses out of the lawyers’ offices. By the way, would you want a self-proclaimed lawyer without formal training working for you???

Or a self regulating body trying to pull wool over the eyes of members by applying inflated fees, bylaws which don’t exist, or financial info on members money that fails to be properly accounted for.

Yup licencing sure tastes good to me! :wink:

"What I do believe in is the government stepping in when those given special status or self regulation have abused the trust."

Agreed. The government should step in and rescind the legislation and remove any implication of government approval.

There is no proposed legislation because legislation is not necessary for the home inspection industry to become a licensed industry. I can be done through the present regulatory structure. Also the letters are CAHPI, not CHAPI. The membership at the meeting was generally satisfied with the progress being made toward licensing, and the only real frustration is with how long it appears to be taking. The membership at the CAPHI understands and accepts that CAHPI is not the only interested party in this process. Both NACHI and independent non-aligned home inspectors have a role to play in the consultative process.
Neil Evans
Grassroots

I think the comments made by Mr. Olsen are somewhat misleading. The CAHPI meeting generally supported licensing and the only real frustration is with how long the process is taking. The CAHPI members at the meeting recognize and accept that they are not the only stakeholders in the process, that NACHI and independent home inspectors have a role to play. CAHPI Alberta has been promoting licensing as a way of ensuring the interests of the consumer are protected. It’s as simple as that. Also no legislation is required, the legislation is in place. The process of setting home inspection up as a licensed industry can be done and is being done under current legislation and regulations. By the way, in discussing various positions of different groups, let’s get the names right. CAHPI not CHAPI.
Neil Evans
Edmonton

On November 7, 2005, Regulation 570/55 was filed that establishes a province-wide licensing system for electrical contractors and master electricians. The goal is to improve electrical safety for workers and the public. These same amendments support Ontario small businesses by allowing electrical contractors to work anywhere in the province with a single licence.
ESA will start accepting applications for electrical contractor and master electrician licenses starting July 1, 2006. All electrical contractors and master electricians will require a licence by January 1, 2007.

ECAO - http://www.ecao.org/contractor.html

Hire a licensed electrician - http://www.esaecra.info/site/index.php

Claude,

Do you favour licencing of home inspectors?

I do fwiw.

Cheers,

I personally do not have an issue - but I would be cautious about the terms of licensing. In some instance if it is sector driven - that’s a plus; but far too often other stakeholders tend to muddy up the terms. I am not for “grandfathering”. To me that’s about quantity and often undermines “quality”.

ASHI recently pointed to Florida licensing as an issue - where licensing seems to have received very poor grades. But I am open for others that may know better from that area. Reference http://sev.prnewswire.com/construction-building/20080103/AQTH09503012008-1.html#

The discussion I hear indicate from a lobbyist is - that there generally is little interest for government involvement in licensing unless the numbers in the 5000+ range. Seems that in itself tells the story - is it about quantity or quality?

Claude

I had the opportunity to discuss licencing recently with one former Premier of Ontario and another MPP, and they indicated the Ontario government had no plans and has no plans for licencing home inspectors fwiw.

However they were most interested to hear of the other problems that are persisitant with regards to legal requirements as per the Corp. Act.

Cheers,

From where I sit Home inspection should be looked at as a profession. Tradesmen build and make things and must spend a long time training to learn those manual skills. Many advance to become good Home and building inspectors. To be a proficient inspector requires a lot of knowledge and not much Manuel skill. Since the courts hold home inspectors responsible for their actions the same as they would for an engineer, architect, doctor etc. it is my opinion the we should be considered a professional and treated as such.
In the old days a labour progressed to a trade then a master tradesman then a master builder and finally an architect. That process is still available today but most people choose to learn the theory first then become architects and engineers. Others choose a mixture of both. Once you move from the Manuel to the cerebral you also change from a trade to a profession.

Good post Vern, I agree. That is why we at InterNACHI continue to release educational courses, be they online like http://www.nachi.org/greenbuildingcoursereleased2007.htm in classrooms like http://on.nachi.org/greaterkingstonarea/event254.html in documents like www.nachi.org/accessibility.htm or on TV like www.nachi.tv

The three most important words in taking our industry to the level of a true profession are: education, education, and education.

Thanks for your Post Lawrence .
I have read this a few times and the more I think about it ,the More disappointed I get.
Here we have directors of CAHPI using our BB to further there cause.
They have in no way not one little bit co-co-operated with NACHI.
They have ridiculed us from the get go .
Called us 30 minutes inspectors never once apologized for insulting calling our members liars,called us those NACHO,s.
Never had the decency to acknowledge our offers of free booths at the
NACHI Toronto Conference .
Refused to allow NACHI to purchase a booth at the fall CAHPI conference.
Posted on their Closed BBs about how NACHI allowed a 12 year old to join NACHI.
I am disappointed to see some of our members supporting them with the way they treat NACHI.
Even now they have never once said sorry for the past treatment they have given NACHI.
There Leader has a closed BB of his and if any one was to post on his BB the way he Post’s on the NACHI BB you would be removed.
A CAHPI director is a NACHI member and he still does not have the iNACHI crest on his BB and when asked about it chastised those who challenged him.
Follow his rules but he sure does not follow the NACHI rules.
I do hope some day help, information ,and co-operation is a two way street, unfortunately it has not happened not one little bit.

[size=1]http://www.straight.com/article-131213/new-rules-for-home-inspectors](http://www.straight.com/article-131213/new-rules-for-home-inspectors)

New rules for home inspectors

By Carlito Pablo
Until recently, Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General John Les didn’t appear to be a great fan of the idea of regulating home inspectors.
When NDP housing critic Diane Thorne noted during question period at the legislative assembly that there are no provincial certification requirements, the B.C. Liberal minister scoffed at the suggestion to regulate the profession.
“But even if they were licensed and regulated, there is nothing to indicate that the performance of the industry would thereby improve,” Les said, according to a November 23, 2006, Hansard transcript.
“There are many licensed and heavily regulated industries where there are still unfortunate incidents.”
Thorne, MLA for Coquitlam-Maillardville, told the Georgia Straight she had raised this issue several times before the legislature and got the same reaction from Les.
“He pooh-poohed me,” Thorne said in a phone interview.
“Then he also was on television saying that if I could show some reason that it was necessary, he might feel differently. In this province, where we have the biggest example of bad buildings and leaky buildings, I would think that he has all the proof he needs that we need some kind of regulation. What more proof does he need?”
Now, in an apparent about-face from his previous position, Les has ordered the development of a regulatory framework that would involve the licensing of home inspectors.
“Regulations are intended to enhance consumer protection and to give consumers confidence that standards of qualification are in place,” the provincial consultation paper stated.
The same paper also indicated that way back in 2005, a consultation conducted by the Home-owner Protection Office had determined that the regulation of home inspectors is supported by industry and consumer organizations.
What made Les change his mind? Les, according to ministry spokesperson Cindy Rose, is on a planning retreat and will not be available for comment until February 7, the day this week’s edition of the Georgia Straight hits the streets.
The move to regulate home inspectors is being met with some cynicism.
Take the case of John Grasty, acting president of the nonprofit Consumer Advocacy and Support for Homeowners.
“It’s good,” Grasty told the Straight.
“The only problem is, what teeth is it going to have?
You certify these people, but how qualified are they?
Can consumers sue them?
If a person hires a home inspector, they have to sign documents which are full of disclaimers.
What they’re finding out is they can’t rely on the information.
There is no guarantee or warranty that that person’s opinion can be relied on.”
In June 2007, Bill Sutherland, the B.C. president of the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors, told the Straight that because the profession is not regulated, essentially anyone can claim to be a qualified home inspector.
At that time, Sutherland noted that the provincial government was resisting the recommendation from his group to regulate the profession.
When the Straight reached him again for his comment on Les’s new direction, Sutherland claimed that the standard being proposed by the provincial government isn’t good enough.
For one, Sutherland noted that the government didn’t adopt the rigorous Canada-wide certification standard developed by the CAHPI national office, which is recognized by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
“It’s hard for us to understand why the government doesn’t want to participate in a standard that has been adopted by the CMHC,” Sutherland said.
The consultation paper also suggested that because some working home inspectors may not have the educational requirements needed, all current inspectors may be automatically licensed.
It added that new home inspectors wanting to get licensed would need to meet all the requirements.
But the document offers some provisions that could protect customers by suggesting a prohibition of certain practices. One such practice is providing repair services to a homeowner by the same inspector who examined the property.
The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General is accepting comments on the proposed regulatory framework until February 22.
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