Vancouver Sun January 30, 2009

B.C. will become the first province in Canada to license home inspectors to protect buyers, the province's Solicitor General John van Dongen announced Friday in Vancouver.

"A home is the single biggest investment most British Columbians make but financial risk can be the result of an incorrect or misleading report from an unqualified inspector," said van Dongen in a news release. "Whether they're buying their first condo or starter home, dream or retirement home, consumers need to have confidence that the person who is doing the inspection has the qualifications to make a professional assessment."

Up until now, home inspection training has been voluntary, and consumers have had no way of knowing if the inspector they hired were adequately knowledgeable.

As of March 31, the government will assess qualifications of people who want to work as home inspectors in this Province, deal with complaints from consumers and monitor compliance through inspections and enforcements, with penalties as high as $5,000.

Courtesy of: The Vancouver Sun