More on Ontario Licensing

Local Inspection Issues Canadian Home Inspectors
1

**I see they seem to not get the NACHI name in there **

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/homes/Clearing+home+inspection+confusion+Province+looks+regulate+industry+create+level+playing+field/9476999/story.html
BY PAULA MCCOOEY, OTTAWA CITIZEN FEBRUARY 6, 2014 3:04 PM
Clearing the home inspection confusion

Province looks to regulate the industry to create a level playing field

Currently there are several designations inspectors can use. Nathan Weinstock is a registered home inspector with the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors.

Photograph by: Bruno Schlumberger , Ottawa Citizen

OTTAWA — Confused about how to know whether a home inspector is qualified to inspect your home? You’re not alone.
That’s why the Ontario government has plans to level the playing field and introduce legislation in the coming months that would regulate the industry, requiring inspectors to meet certain criteria to receive a licence, which would be issued by the province.
Right now, there’s no minimum standard inspectors must follow to practise in their field. Most are members of industry associations that do require a certain amount of training, education and inspections to gain membership. But the onus is on the consumer to vet them.
The Ministry of Consumer Services set up an advisory panel last year to come up with recommendations to help take the profession out of the wild west.
Minister Tracy MacCharles says the problem is anyone can call themselves a home inspector, although she’s quick to stress that many are credible.
“It is confusing, and that’s what I’m trying to do, as a manager of consumer services, as a government, is to make things as clear as possible for consumers,” says MacCharles. “And when consumers, in this case home buyers, have confidence, then I think everyone benefits.”
There is no clear designation now. Some inspectors are “registered” or “licensed”, depending on the association. For example, the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors designation is called a registered home inspector, while the Professional Home Inspectors of Canada offers a title of professional home & property inspector, and the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors uses national certificate holder as a designation.
Ottawa home inspector Doug Kendall was one of 16 members on the advisory panel, which included inspectors, engineers, real estate lawyers and educators from across the province.
He says there are at least seven associations across the province, with most requiring inspectors to fulfil certain education and work requirements. But there are others, he says, that allow an aspiring inspector to simply log onto a website, answer questions and become an inspector on the spot.
According to the panel’s final report, there are about 1,500 home inspectors in Ontario. Of these, half responded to a survey in which about 95 per cent of them said they had registered with one of the provincial, national or international associations for home inspectors. About 80 per cent had become certified through their association, and more than 75 per cent had a college or university education.
The report cited 35 recommendations to lay out minimum requirements for a home inspection licence and to establish a uniform standard of practise for consistency in inspections, a code of ethics and a process for complaints and discipline.
The panel agreed all inspectors should take an exam, pass a field test and continue their professional development to keep up with changing technology and practises.
“Here’s a process for everyone to be licensed, so when you hire a home inspector eventually … if they’ve got a licence, the government will know that they’ve gone through that criteria to get there,” says Kendall.
Until then, MacCharles urges consumers to get more than one quote, check references, training and experience, and ask to see pastinspection reports.
“Although we don’t have mandatory requirements for home inspectors right now, there’s many courses that home inspectors may have taken to get that knowledge and skill level of their trade.”
To view the report, called A Closer Look: Qualifying Ontario’s Home Inspectors, go to ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=14645&language=en](http://ontariocanada.com/registry/view.do?postingId=14645&language=en)
You can offer feedback on the report at homeinspectors@ontario.ca. http://www.ontariocanada.com/registry/contact_us.do?action=init

2

Nachi seems to be the lowest bar and does not make the grade Roy. Sad how little informed they are.
Funny how they speak of licensing leveling the playing field. That will never happen because those that are good in marketing themselves will excel on all levels and everyone that has a license in HI will struggle to be good enough at that.

3

Any HI laws will level the playing field. HI laws are all only basic, minimal standards and requirements, resulting in basic, minimal reports, and cheap prices. All REA’s want this, so home buyers will not be alarmed, and sell sub-par properties to unsuspecting home buyers.

Media can spin it any way they want, but HI laws will result in hurting the home buyers; not helping them.

It does not make any difference what designations, equipment, or experience you have. As long as you do a basic minimal inspection at a very low cost, and have a cheap, basic minimal license, you will stay in business.

Your area must then license all home builders and trades persons, and adapt a national building code, so you can state what a defect is, and is not. All inspectors, builders, and trades persons will then be monitored by dozens of officers, hired by your state, and instructed to enforce the laws. Implementing laws, hiring of enforcement officers, and monitoring them and hiring of attorneys to write the laws will cost your state millions.

I hope they have the time, and the money to do it right. If not, it is a waste, like it was here in Kansas.

4

Memorandum

To: PAC Chairs
Executive Officers

From: Matthew Thornton
Director of Government Relations

CC: OREA Board of Directors
OREA Government Relations Committee
OREA Staff Directors

Katarina Markovinovic
Media Relations Specialist

Date: February 4th, 2013

Re: Template News Story - Home Inspection Regulation

Delivery: Email

As you know, the Government of Ontario is currently consulting on minimum qualifications for home inspectors. At present, any individual in the province can, without any training or accreditation, call themselves a home inspector.

OREA has supported the government’s efforts to regulate the home inspection industry. Regulating the industry will help ensure home buyers and sellers receive reliable, informative and professional advice when making one of the largest decisions of their lives.

OREA has drafted the attached template news story for local boards emphasizing our industry’s support for the government’s initiative. Please submit the completed story to your print media outlets at your earliest convenience.

The news story is part of OREA’s ongoing efforts to promote the value of a REALTOR® and to position our members as strong advocates on behalf of Ontario home buyers and sellers.

Please contact me with any questions mthornton@orea.com. Feel free to refer any media requests for comment to Katarina Markovinovic, OREA’s Media Relations Specialist Katarinam@orea.com or 416-445-9910 ext. 615.

**Matthew Thornton, MA, CAE **| Director, Government Relations
Ontario Real Estate Association](http://orea.com/)
T: (416) 385-6624 | 1-800-265-OREA(6732) | F: 416-445-2113 | E: mthornton@orea.com
99 Duncan Mill Road | Don Mills, ON M3B 1Z2
Let’s connect! ](http://www.orea.com/en/Social-Media)| OREA Blog | @OREAGR](http://twitter.com/oreagr)

5

This to me does not sound good looks like OREA is getting inside information…
[FONT=Calibri]Sounds like a done deal I guess.

Sad how OREA is muscling in…an inherent problem from the get go![/FONT]

6

Government will always be the problem.

Licensing and regulation of home inspectors will cause dozens of lawsuits by home buyers, because reports, rules, and regulations will be very basic. Remember, lawmakers that vote your worthless regulations into play will be voted out. Many here in Kansas are gone already, and have been replaced and voted out.

Sounds like a major “licking” up to REA’s. You’ll find out. I suggest all HI’s in your area find other lines of employment. Your revenue will drop dramatically with forced rules and regulations. REA’s will love new, 3-month experienced licensed HI’s over the 10+ veteran licensed inspectors, who want to charge their clients higher fees than the newbies. It will be a commodity; not a career.

Have any of your lawmakers call the TREC. Their laws and regulations are updated almost weekly for the last several years, causing lawsuits and confusion. I hope your state has budgeted to spend millions on HI laws, enforcement, office workers, monitoring educational requirements, fee collecting, computer storage of info, etc. etc.

All you need to do is to ask your committee in the next hearing is “where is the operating revenue coming from?”

7

Here is the attachment sent along with the email from OREA

**Regulation of home inspection industry needed, say Ontario Realtors
**
Currently in Ontario, anyone can call themselves a home inspector. This could pose a problem for Ontarians who might base their decision to buy or sell a home on information they receive from an unregulated, unlicensed home inspector.

Home inspectors play an important role in the home buying and selling process,” says [INSERT BOARD PRESIDENT’S NAME]. Professionals with this much influence should be licensed and have proper training to ensure consumers receive a consistent and standardized service.”

The Ontario Real Estate Association is working with the Ministry of Consumer Services to improve consumer protection in the real estate marketplace by encouraging efforts to regulate the home inspection industry. In August 2013, the Minister of Consumer Services, the Honourable Tracy MacCharles, asked a volunteer panel of experts to review home inspector qualifications in Ontario. The panel, comprised of members from home inspection associations, consumer advocates and real estate industry representatives, developed a report with 35 recommendations for the home inspection industry.

“One of our main recommendations is to establish parameters for licensing the industry,” says [INSERT BOARD PRESIDENT’S NAME]. “Regulating the industry will help ensure homebuyers and sellers receive reliable, informative and professional advice when making one of the largest decisions of their lives.”

Unlike home inspectors, Ontario REALTORS® are regulated under the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002 (REBBA). REBBA is administered by the Real Estate Council of Ontario.

“Realtors are regulated professionals with a duty to provide accurate information to our clients,” says [INSERT BOARD PRESIDENT’S NAME]. “We are subject to strict standards of client care, which were designed to deter unethical behaviour in the real estate marketplace. We hope to accomplish the same in the home inspection industry.”

The panel’s report and any public feedback the ministry receives will guide the government as it considers whether to bring forward legislation to establish qualifications for home inspectors.

-30-

8

Huh? Is OREA suggesting that the entire inspection profession is unethical?

I know I have worked with a few unethical agents, so how does OREA figure treating inspectors like Realtors/agents is going to stop licenced unethical inspectors?

Doubt what I am saying about ethical agents? if so go to the RECO website and see the disciplinary decisions. Hypocritical of OREA, and personally I feel slighted because OREA has now painted me and my colleagues and as a bunch of unethical, out of control cowboys who don’t see their relationship less then at arms length by agents pushing lousy home inspectors to gain that precious commission.

9

If this is an example of the Real Estate Profession operating within their Code of Ethics, it doesn’t say much for them. OREA weren’t even represented at the Panel meetings yet they make this sound as though they had a major input to the recommendations.

Pure self-serving propaganda as far as I’m concerned and anyone else on the panel that cares to speak the truth would agree.

10

I wonder could they be privileged to insider information .
.Nothing would surprise me any more .

I have met too many agents who do not do thing properly.

11

I have just sent this to the MCS.

I was today made aware of a couple of communiques from OREA and wondered if you had seen them and had any comment?

As the Realty Profession comes under the MCS, we wondered what the official position was on a group with the government advocacy power OREA has making statements that seem to this effect. This coming at an especially sensitive time for the profession. It must be remembered that the initial referral of an Inspector to a Client is via the Realtor, and when an agency such as OREA can make statement that appear to have the regulation a done deal with OREA at the forefront. I know OREA is a trade association and as such aren’t strictly under the control of RECO or the MCS, but it does seem to shine a light on perceived nepotism within the Realty profession with respect to its special relationship with the Ontario Government.

When mis-information such as this is put out by such a powerful lobby group, it only serves to detract from the good number of Associations that are providing excellent skills to Home Inspectors and providing self-regulation of their members.

There are many Realtors that refer “pet” home inspectors, this is hardly ethical, nor is implying that OREA had anything to do with the panel recommendations.

They were not even represented on the panel. John Mark Roberts was the only representative from the Realty profession and he was a representative from CREA.

It serves no purpose to say the Government are going to all the trouble and expense of regulating the Home Inspection profession to improve standards and professional ethics, if it can be shown that organisations under current regulatory control can spin whatever stories they like in order to support their profession and go un-admonished.

This is especially true when the information is coming from an Organisation whose mandate is: “To promote a legislative and regulatory environment in Ontario favourable to REALTORS® and real estate”. Not much about consumers in that mandate!?

12

My experience here to Roy. I think the last several posts we are in agreement. It is time to stop OREA, CREA, RECO and Tarion influence.

13

Reminds me of a song I wrote over 20 years ago.
You got me hanging on a string and wont let me go. You treat me like a fool in your own puppet show.
I will not be a puppet again.

14

Roy,

What is your position on licensing?

Tell Char I said, Hello…!

15

I try not to take any position just stay neutral .
Just want fair and proper treatment for all .

Looks to me like we have way too many experts who all feel they should have control of our industry.

**There seems to be not enough true cooperation or communication . **

Great to hear from you Dale and all our southern friends trying to give help and their thoughts …

16

I rec;d a reply from CSA Project Leader for home inspection standard CSA 770 -

Reply states

17

Hmmmm interesting over a year away …

Thanks Ray much appreciated … Roy

18

I am getting a sickening feeling that this is going to give a bit more of problem than they think trying to implement changes without the Professional backing of the Home Inspection Industry.

19

It has backing of the Home Inspection profession Kevin, just unfortunately the same old TWO. OAHI & CAHPI with a large dose of technical from CDW. So not representative of the majority of the Home Inspection profession.

20

Which means Len they do not have backing of the Home Inspection Industry.:wink: