http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/home-inspection-bill-algonquin-college-reaction-1.4067025
New billregulating Ontario home inspectors lauded by industry as ‘terrific’ news.
Ottawa
New bill regulating Ontario home inspectors lauded byindustry as ‘terrific’ news
Bill 59 would mandate licenses, insurance, and create a codeof ethics
**By TrevorPritchard, CBC NewsPosted: Apr 16, 2017 5:00 AM ET Last Updated: Apr 16, 2017 5:00 AM ET **
New legislation introduced by the Ontario government Mondaywill regulate the province’s home inspection industry — and the industry itselfsays it’s fine with that. (Canadian Press)
Homeinspectors could soon be regulated in Ontario
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Home inspectors in Ontario are lauding new legislation thatwould require them to be licensed, have insurance, and abide by a code ofethics — and potentially face discipline if they don’t.
The Putting Consumers First Act, which was passed lastweek at Queen’s Park, will impose new rules upon one of the fewprofessionals involved in real-estate transactions that have not beenhistorically subject to provincial regulation.
“It’s terrific news,” said Michael Levitan, ahome inspector who also teaches home inspection skills at Algonquin College inOttawa.
“Right now home inspection is not a regulatedindustry,” Levitan told CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning. “So if you hire ahome inspector, you’re not exactly sure what’s going to happen during your homeinspection.”
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Last summer, Ontario’s Liberal government announced plans tointroduce legislation to regulate home inspectors, of which they saidthere are approximately 1,500 in the province.
Marie-France Lalonde, who was Minister of ConsumerServices at the time, said the legislation would protect consumers byensuring they benefit from quality advice and are aware of safetyissues before buying a home.
Michael Levitan, a home inspector in Ottawa who also teacheshome inspection classes at Algonquin College, called the new legislation’terrific news.’ (Trevor Pritchard/CBC)
The legislation, also known as Bill 59, was based uponrecommendations made by a 16-person expert panel.
It will also introduce minimum standards for home inspectionreports, contracts and disclosures. Inspectors who breach the code ofethics could face fines of up to $25,000.
The legislation comes one year after Toronto Liberal MPP HanDong introduced a private member’s bill intended to license home inspectors,but his bill never made it past committee.
Will ensure industry’s reputation
While the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) hasregulated its members since 1994, it supports provincial oversight as a way to give homebuyers more security, president Murray Parish said — and also toensure the reputation of the entire industry.
“A true professional is a professional. If you startcutting corners, you’re going to end up cutting yourself or cutting somebodyelse,” Parish said. “If you walk the straight line, you don’t have toworry about that, right?”
Parish, who performs home inspections throughout the GreaterToronto Area and parts of central Ontario, said OAHI has its own code ofethics. Members who breach that code have been forced to take trainingcourses, he said, or even end up being kicked out of the association.
Most of the OAHI’s approximately 500 members give homebuyers "the full gist of what’s going on inside the house,“Parish said. But in the current housing market, he added, it’s not unheardof for inspectors — both inside the association and outside of it — to cutcorners.
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“If the member’s not adhering to the discipline, or tothe ethics, then we have to remove them,” said Parish. “And wedo.”
‘Their responsibility is to the home’
Levitan, an OAHI member himself, echoed many ofParish’s sentiments.
“We’re hoping they all follow the same standards ofpractice, the same procedure, so your home inspector is the same as myinspector,” he said.
While most home inspectors are honest, Levitan said some"don’t give this profession as much credibility as it deserves.”
He said he knew of home inspectors who didn’t carryinsurance in the belief that, if something ends up going wrong with thehouse, the homeowner will call them for follow-up service instead of alawyer.
“My job is not to tell you to buy or not to buy thehouse. In fact, a good home inspector will tell you that their responsibilityis to the home,” Levitan said.
“It’s up to you to decide what to do with thatinformation.”