Ohio Senator To Address Proposed Licensing Bill

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By Mike O'Handley - TIJ Editor

On Tuesday, March 10th, at 4:00 pm, State Senator Dale Miller (D) will go before the Ohio Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee to address SB14 - a bill to require licensure of home inspectors and to create the Ohio Home Inspector Board to regulate the licensure and performance of home inspectors.

Miller is the bill's sponsor and had intruduced the bill in the Ohio Senate on February 10th, at which time it had been referred to the Insurance, Commerce and Labor committee for consideration.

Should this bill become law, it will establish a state home inspectors licensing board consisting of five members - three of whom would be professional home inspectors - and it will make it illegal to perform home inspections in the state of Ohio without a license, without a pre-inspection agreement signed by both parties and without complying to rules established by the board. Interestingly, each of the home inspector board members must be a member of one of the national home inspector associations and not more than three members of the board may be members of the same political party, which begs the question of representation for those who are not affiliated with any national association - usually the largest home inspectors demographic in a state.

The bill also requires that the Ohio Superintendent of Real Estate and Professional Licensing must create a brochure to educate consumers about the home inspection process, including but not limited to full home inspections, inspections for pests, radon gas, or both; inspections conducted by a person who is employed by or whose services otherwise are retained by this state or a political subdivision of this state for the purpose of enforcing building codes; and what issues a consumer needs to consider when selecting a home inspector.

Under this bill, real estate agents in Ohio will be required to provide each client with a copy of the brocure as soon as the enter into an agreement to represent the client in the real estate transaction.

After Miller addresses the bill, the committee may schedule public hearings to take testimony, pro or con, about the bill. For more information about this bill, go to the state website.