February 11th - 2008

Home inspections – to be there or not to be there?

RECO has received several questions regarding home inspections and who should be present during the inspection as well as how client instructions should be handled.

RECO has received several questions regarding home inspections and who should be present during the inspection as well as how client instructions should be handled.

There is no section in REBBA 2002 that specifically requires that a registrant must be in attendance at the time that a home inspection takes place. However, if a registrant has no written directions as to who will be in attendance at the time of the inspection, problems could arise that could lead to allegations of violations of specific sections of the Act.

Here’s an example from RECO: A registrant representing a seller arranges to let a home inspector into the seller’s home for the purpose of an inspection while the seller is at work. The representative of the seller leaves the home inspector alone in the house for three hours to attend other business. When the seller returns that evening they complain about a number of things such as mud being dragged into the home, damage to the home having occurred, or that objects have been stolen from their home.

The seller complains to RECO that their brokerage/representative has acted unethically because they were not looking out for the best interest of the seller and/or were not conscientious and competent in their service. According to RECO, these allegations could in fact lead to a disciplinary hearing under the Code or any of the other remedies available to the Registrar under the Act.

In response to these and other similar complaints involving home inspections where alleged conduct in contravention of the Act occurs, RECO offers these guidelines.

In order to satisfy s.4 and/or s.5 of the Code, registrant’s are obligated to follow the instructions of their clients and to use their common sense in the course of trading. Both the sellers' representative and the buyers' representative should act in accordance with their clients' lawful instructions.

In order to avoid any potential problems it would be wise for a registrant to obtain written instructions from their respective clients (buyer/seller) on how the clients would like the inspection to be conducted, (e.g. who would be in attendance and when). A review of s.10 of the Code would confirm this view.

Always have written instructions regarding what will happen at a home inspection or any other service being performed in order to avoid such problems. The representation agreement with a buyer and/or seller would be a suitable document to use for this purpose.

Keep in mind that some clients may prefer that their REALTOR® be present, although some home inspectors may prefer otherwise.

If you are there during the inspection process it may create some concerns if you become actively involved in inspection activities that are beyond your knowledge, competence or comfort level.

Discuss the options with the clients and inspector and proceed accordingly.

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For more information contact

Ontario Real Estate Association

Jean-Adrien Delicano

Senior Manager, Media Relations

JeanAdrienD@orea.com

416-445-9910 ext. 246

Ontario Real Estate Association
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