If you have purchased a residence within the last several
years you may have used the services of a home inspector.
Until recently, such inspectors were not regulated.
This meant that there were no standards for basic competence
of such inspectors. It also meant that such inspectors
likely had no insurance or bonding to pay for any errors
or omissions they might make in performing their inspections.
Now the State of Arizona, through the State Board of
Technical Registration, licenses home inspectors and
sets standards for their testing, licensing, and performance.
The Arizona Legislature has passed legislation that
created a home inspector rules and standards committee
of the State Board of Technical Registration. The committee
consists of three home inspectors (one of whom shall
be a resident of a county with a population of four
hundred thousand persons or less) and two members of
the board of technical registration (including an architect
or engineer and a public member).
The home inspectors appointed to the committee serve
staggered three year terms. Those home inspectors must
have at least five years of experience as a home inspector
and must have passed the certification examination prescribed
for home inspectors. Members of the committee may be
removed for misconduct, incapacity or neglect of duty.
The committee is responsible for drafting and recommending
to the Board of Technical Registration various standards
for home inspectors, such as:
1. Criteria for home inspector certification.
2. Standards for home inspection reports.
3. Standards for written examinations.
4. Standards for educational programs including course
of study, home inspector-in-training programs and continuing
education.
5. Rules defining conduct.
6. Other rules and standards related to the practice
of home inspectors.
The standards for certification as a home inspector
require that applicants for certification must:
1. Be at least eighteen years of age.
2. Be of good moral character and repute.
3. Have passed within two years preceding application
a written examination approved by the Board that meets
the competency standards recommended by the home inspector
rules and standards committee and adopted by the Board
of Technical Registration.
4. Have passed a course of study and a home inspector-in-training
program and that meets the standards recommended by
the home inspector rules and standards committee and
approved by the Board of Technical Registration.
5. Pay a fee as determined by the Board and submit a
full set of fingerprints to the Board for the purpose
of obtaining a state and federal criminal records check.
The department of public safety may exchange this fingerprint
data with the federal bureau of investigation. Any documents
and information relating to the state and federal criminal
records check required by this section are not public
records.
6. Not have had a certificate as a home inspector denied
or revoked within one year immediately preceding the
application.
7. Have received an absolute discharge from sentence
at least five years before the application if the person
has been convicted of one or more felonies.
Within sixty days after certification, a home inspector
must file one of the following financial assurances:
1. Errors and omissions insurance for negligent acts
committed in the course of a home inspection in an amount
of two hundred thousand dollars in the aggregate and
one hundred thousand dollars per occurrence.
2. A bond in the amount of twenty-five thousand dollars.
3. A financial assurance mechanism with a value of at
least twenty-five thousand dollars recommended by the
home inspector rules and standards committee and approved
by the Board.
If a home inspector loses or otherwise fails to maintain
their insurance or bond, the inspector's certification
is automatically suspended. If no insurance or bond
is obtained within ninety days, the inspector's certification
is automatically revoked.
These regulations at least provide for a minimum level
of competence and financial responsibility by home inspectors.
The real question, of course, is whether or not you
should use a home inspector when buying a residence.
Certainly the new regulations make it more likely that
someone holding himself or herself out as a home inspector
is competent. They may not, however, have the same level
of training and knowledge as a licensed contractor.
Any time it appears that repairs to a property may be
necessary, you should get the opinion of a licensed
contractor. If all you need is for someone to alert
you to any potential problems in a residence, however,
a home inspector may be useful for that purpose. You
should always make sure, of course, that the house inspector
is licensed and insured.
| This communication is designed
to bring legal developments of interest to the attention
of our clients and others. It should not be relied
upon as a substitute for specific legal advice in
a particular matter. For further information on
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