Home Inspectors Update Qualification Requirements: Positioning Themselves
for Mandatory Certification and Interprovincial Trade Mobility Requirements

With an historical unanimity of purpose, the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors voted to amend standards in keeping with new public policy.  Committed to increased consumer protection and professionalism, the Association took steps to position the association to facilitate mobility of inspectors among provinces pursuant to the Agreement on Internal Trade signed by Canadian Premiers.

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Dec. 16 /CNW/ - In tumultuous times, with the real estate economy in flux, the possibility of provincial mandatory licensing looming after next year's provincial election, and new legal requirements for labour mobility coming in to force on December 15, 2010, members of Ontario's leading home and building inspection association approved this week several changes to its qualification and certification system for inspectors.

The Ontario Association of Home Inspectors (OAHI) held a Special Meeting of Members in Mississauga, attracting inspectors from across Ontario.  The meeting attracted high member participation in keeping with the significance of the decisions and the level of voting participation required by association bylaws.

Under the Ontario Labour Mobility Act (2009) which in part drove the changed requirements which the Special Meeting considered, every Ontario regulatory authority, of which OAHI is one, shall…

(a)	ensure that the process it follows in establishing or amending occupational standards for the occupations for which it is authorized to grant an authorizing certificate is conducive to labour mobility within Canada;
(b)	take steps to reconcile differences between the occupational standards it has established for an occupation and occupational standards in effect with respect to the same occupation in the other provinces and territories of Canada that are parties to the Agreement on Internal Trade; and
(c)	ensure that the occupational standards it establishes for each occupation for which it is authorized to grant an authorizing certificate are consistent with such common interprovincial or international occupational standards as may have been developed for that occupation.

OAHI realigned its requirements for its levels of qualification and certification to better conform to the National Occupational Standard for the Professional Home and Property Inspector Occupation, recognized by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Human Resources and Social Development Canada as a common standard.  The standard is recognized across Canada and forms the basis for qualification and certifying home inspector organizations in Canadian provinces.  In so doing, OAHI strengthened its already high qualification standards, and facilitated mobility of inspectors to and from Ontario.  At the same time, the association sets the qualification benchmark that may be referenced if certified home inspection becomes mandatory in Ontario as has been recommended by a provincial panel chaired by the Fire Marshal and the Chair of Ontario Chiefs of Police.

The members also voted to add a mandatory upgrading requirement for the senior certification level - Registered Home Inspector - in recognition of the fact that learning is perpetual and continuous, and needs to be driven by seminal events such as new building codes and emerging inspection themes or service needs such as energy efficiency, water conservation, building materials and systems, or construction technologies.  The goal is to continue to enhance the level of consumer protection that quality inspection and advisory services afford Ontarians.

President Robin Green commented: "Who couldn't admire a group that would take such bold moves within a self-regulatory association?  It is a proud moment!"

About the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors:

The OAHI was formed in 1987. In 1994, the OAHI became a self-regulating professional body when the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors Act received royal assent, granting the OAHI the exclusive right to define qualification requirements, regulate its members and grant the designation "Registered Home Inspector" and "RHI" to qualified practitioners in the Province of Ontario, under control of title.  The OAHI is dedicated to providing consumer protection by enhancing the technical skills and professional practice of home inspectors, and maintaining high professional standards through education and discipline.

For further information:

Robin Green, President
Ontario Association of Home Inspectors
416-256-0960
[email protected]