QUESTION -- Are there any licensing or mandatory requirements to practice home inspections in Manitoba or other provinces?
Answer -- Until very recently, the answer to this often-asked question would have made a very brief and uninteresting column. The simple answer was no. On Jan. 30, this all changed when the government of British Columbia announced that it was beginning the process of licensing home inspectors in that province. Solicitor General and Minster of Public Safety John Van Dongen stated in the news release that "B.C. will become the first province in Canada to license home inspectors to better protect buyers and ensure qualified inspections."
The news followed many years of efforts from the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors -- British Columbia (CAHPI-BC) and other groups to obtain government licensing. After repeated requests were rejected, positive signs recently emerged suggesting that changes were finally happening, with a planned media event. Despite the optimism of several stakeholders, nothing was known about the criteria for licensing requirements until the official news release was issued last Friday.
While attending a real estate conference in Alberta this week, I had the personal pleasure to witness the elation of three long time members of the CAHPI-BC executive, when the news broke. B. C. President Owen Dickie and Vice-President Chris Stockdale were attending the conference to promote their provincial association, while B. C. Past President and current CAHPI National President Bill Sutherland and I flew the national flag. Words could not describe the satisfaction and relief on the faces of these tireless workers when the details of the licensing requirements were received by e-mail from Vancouver.
Mandatory licensing takes effect on March 31st, 2009 and will include an assessment of inspectors' qualifications, complaints monitoring, and enforcement with stiff penalties for non-compliance. To become a licensed home inspector, individuals must meet the requirement of one of three associations. These include CAHPI-BC, the Applied Science and Technicians and Technologists of British Columbia (ASTTBC), and the National Certification Program for Home and Property Inspectors. Meeting the requirements of any of these three bodies and a small licensing fee will be the entry point for the right to practice home inspections in B.C. For current home inspectors not affiliated with any of these groups, an application for a license may be submitted before the March deadline outlining their current education, experience, and ability. These applications will be assessed by the government regulators, who may issue a license, based on these criteria, but these individuals will only be "grandfathered" for a period of two years before they are required to meet the standards of one of the three approved Associations.
The real question is what does this mean for homebuyers in British Columbia and across the country? The answer to that question is increased consumer protection from shoddy or unqualified individuals claiming to be qualified inspectors. Previously, there was nothing stopping any person in Canada from buying a flashlight and ladder and calling themselves a home inspector. Instant, on-line credentials can be purchased with membership in several "Associations" that claim to certify inspectors with little more scrutiny than ensuring that their cheques don't bounce. Under the new requirements in B.C., these individuals should be out of business by March 31st, or certainly within two years.
While this announcement will have no immediate impact on Manitoba homebuyers, or those outside B.C., it should have definite benefits in the future. While provincial governments have been reluctant to get involved in this type of regulation of the home inspection industry, many have already begun the process in anticipation of events like this occurring. Alberta and Quebec, in particular, have already established review committees that are in various stages at this time. Nova Scotia has recently suggested that they are interested in exploring regulation. I have also received some correspondence in the last couple of years that suggests that the Manitoba government is well aware of the issue. While there does not seem to be anything imminent in our own backyard, I believe that all the provinces will now have to seriously look at following the B.C. lead.
My own personal satisfaction with this announcement was that CAHPI-BC and the National Certification Program were both named to have met the standards of the new regulations. Long-time readers of this column will be familiar with the National Certification Program and several articles devoted to that topic over the last few years. My involvement in the development of that program has been instantly gratified with the news that the first province in this country to enact licensing has seen the benefits of this newly established, country-wide certification open to all qualified inspectors, regardless of affiliation. The long term benefits to homebuyers of these new regulations may not be known for a while, but it appears that the British Columbia pioneers of regulation of Canadian home inspectors have done it right.
Ari Marantz is the owner of Trained Eye Home Inspection Ltd. and the President of the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors -- Manitoba (www.cahpi.mb.ca). Questions can be e-mailed or sent to: Ask The Inspector, P. O. Box 69021, #110-2025 Corydon Ave., Winnipeg, MB. R3P 2G9. Ari can be reached at (204) 291-5358 or check out his website at www.trainedeye.ca.
