As of April 1 All B.C. Inspectors Must Be Licensed

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By Mike O'Handley - TIJ Editor

March 31st was the last day that inspectors in British Columbia were allowed to operate without a license. Effective today, the 300 to 400 home inspectors who are actively performing home inspections in BC were supposed to have all obtained their licenses or face potential fines of up to $5000. TIJ had previously featured an article about these new rules on January 30th.

Under the new licensing guidelines, practicing inspectors had until March 31st to apply for their license and become "grandfathered." Inspectors who requested grandfathering underwent an assessment of their background and experience and had to undergo a criminal background check and satisfy the Canadian authorities that they have professional liability insurance and had met the requirements of one of three professional home inspector associations operating in British Columbia.

Practicing inspectors who had applied for licensing but had not yet met the requirements of one of the three associations may have been issued licenses so that they could continue operating; however, these inspectors then have only two years to meet all of the education and training requirements.

From April 1st 2009, inspectors who failed to apply for their license before the March 31st deadline are supposed to have ceased operations; these and any new inspectors will need to satisfy the Canadian agency tasked with managing this program that they have met all prerequisits before they'll be issued a license.

For more information, click here.