A new act passed last week in Ontario will require home inspectors to be licensed, possess insurance, and abide by a code of ethics.
Called the Putting Consumers First Act, the legislation will help regulate professionals that have previously not been subject to any sort of provincial bylaw; there are currently about 1,500 home inspectors in Ontario.
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The provincial government announced its plans to pass such regulation last summer. Then-Minister of Consumer Services Marie-France Lalonde said the legislation would protect consumers by ensuring they receive quality advice.
The bill also introduced minimum standards for home inspection reports, contracts and disclosures. Those inspectors who breach the code of ethics could be fined up to $25,000.
Many of the home inspectors operating in the region have praised Ontario’s decision to pass the bill.
“It’s terrific news,” Algonquin College-based home inspector Michael Levitan told CBC. “Right now home inspection is not a regulated industry. So if you hire a home inspector, you’re not exactly sure what’s going to happen during your home inspection.”
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“A true professional is a professional. If you start cutting corners, you’re going to end up cutting yourself or cutting somebody else,” commented Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) president Murray Parish. “If you walk the straight line, you don’t have to worry about that, right?”
Levitan, himself a member of the OAHI, shared the same sentiments.
“We’re hoping they all follow the same standards of practice, the same procedure, so your home inspector is the same as my inspector,” he said.
He also said that he knew some home inspectors who did not carry insurance; those inspectors believed if something goes wrong with the house, the homeowner will call them for a follow-up service instead of a lawyer.
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