Ontario home inspectors must now have insurance and meet other regulations

April 17th, 2017  |  Home

There are only about 1,500 home inspectors in Ontario. It is an exclusive trade. So much so that it tends to fly under the radar in people's industry overviews. But now, for the first time, home inspection will be subject to many of the same sorts of government regulations that other industries typically face.

Last week Ontario passed the Putting Consumers First Act, a law that establishes protocols for home inspection and will ensure a greater degree in fairness across the board for consumers. It will require home inspection professionals to be licensed, have insurance, and abide by a code of ethics that would trigger disciplinary actions if breached.

As things are right now, there's really no standardized guideline in place that can necessitate adherence to propriety. Although the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) exists and maintains a high degree of oversight among members, its 500-person membership is only approximately a third of the total number of inspectors in the province.

OAHI President Murray Parish came out in support of this provincial measure.

"A true professional is a professional. If you start cutting corners, you're going to end up cutting yourself or cutting somebody else," Parish said. "If you walk the straight line, you don't have to worry about that, right?"

For prospective home buyers, who are laying quite a bit on the line with their investment, it's unacceptable for anyone to be cutting corners. With this new regulation in place, they'll have the law behind that belief as well.