Regulation Of Home Inspection Industry Needed, Say Ontario Realtors

Ontario Real Estate Association supports the Minister of Consumer Services in her efforts to improve consumer protection in the real estate marketplace 

TORONTO, Ontario – Ontario realtors want to see the home inspection industry in the province regulated, and they are working with the Ministry of Consumer Services to make it happen.

The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) — which represents over 57,000 brokers and salespeople who are members of the 40 real estate boards throughout the province — backed the government’s efforts to enhance consumer protection, on Monday, by responding to, “A Closer Look: Qualifying Ontario’s Home Inspectors,” an independent findings report that recommends regulation of the home inspection industry.

Monday was the final day for public review and feedback on the report.

“For prospective buyers, the information disclosed in a home inspection may influence their decision to buy a home,” says Phil Dorner, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). “Professionals with this much influence should be licensed and have proper training.”

Currently in Ontario, anyone can call themselves a home inspector, says a release from OREA.

In October 2012, The Minister of Consumer Services, the Honourable Tracy MacCharles, committed to working with home inspection associations, consumer advocates, and real estate industry representatives on mandatory qualifications for home inspectors to enhance consumer protection.

In August 2013, the Minister asked a volunteer panel of experts to review home inspector qualifications in Ontario. The panel 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 Johnmark Roberts, the panel’s realtor representative. “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.”