BC Regulations & Compliance

In 2009, following years of HIABC’s lobbying of government for regulation of the home inspection industry, regulation was approved in BC.  The Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act (BPCP Act) and Home Inspector Licensing Regulation (HILR) make up the legislation which governs home inspectors in the Province of BC. The branch of government responsible for managing this legislation with home inspectors is Consumer Protection BC (CPBC).

Some of the benefits of the 2009 regulation of the industry are:

• Licences – Home Inspectors must have a license to practice home inspection in BC. You have the right to ask to see this license and ensure it is current.
• Errors & Omissions (E&O) Coverage – Your inspector must carry a mandated amount of E&O coverage. E&O coverage is designed to financially protect the inspector in the event of a claim settlement. E&O coverage does not provide benefits to inspection clients as a type of guarantee or warranty.

In September 2016 Consumer Protection BC (CPBC)  introduced new regulation  which lowered the requirements to become a home inspector in BC and reduced the industry standards for  receiving and maintaining a home inspector license in this Province.  In an effort to protect the BC consumer, HIABC continues to enforce higher standards, training and educational requirements to belong to our Association.

HIABC continues to lobby the government for improvement, however, BC consumers must be aware of these reduced requirements when looking to hire a home inspector:

• CPBC removed the mandatory obligation of home inspectors to belong to a professional home inspection association in BC.  For those inspectors who have chosen to be unaligned from any professional association, the consumer should understand the lack of oversight of their inspection standards, reporting and ethics.
• Only professional home inspection associations maintain a Standards of Practice or Scope of Inspection which their members must adhere to.  For those inspectors who do not belong to an association and, therefore, have no authority to use an association approved Standards of Practice, the consumer has no idea what, if any, Standard is being used.  BC Government has promised for many years now to supply one industry Scope of Inspection for all BC home inspectors  but to date none has been implemented.
• CPBC removed  the need for mandatory continued education for home inspectors.  HIABC continues to require continued professional education credits annually to remain a member of our association.
• CPCB reduced the qualifications of approved field trainers when providing mandatory training hours for new inspectors.  No oversight or  direction is given to CPBC approved field trainers and examiners. HIABC continues to require higher standards for training of inspectors who wish to belong to our association.
• Be sure to find your home inspector through www.hiabc.ca.
• HIABC responds to Consumer Protection BC’s diluted regulations for new home inspectors entering the industry by assuring the public that HIABC inspectors will follow more stringent requirements to ensure the confidence of the BC consumer. Media Release Mar2017