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Pa. House approves bill to license home inspectors
Listen to this articleSponsored by Reps. Sue Helm (R-Dauphin) and Bill Kortz (D-Allegheny), House Bill 1001 passed by a 125 to 63 vote on Tuesday. It will now be considered by the Senate.
The bill would create a Home Inspector Licensing Board within the Department of Labor and Industry to establish licensing and provide oversight of the profession.
Under the proposal, license applicants would need to be at least 18 years of age; have a high school diploma or equivalent life or occupational experience; have completed board-approved training of at least 120 hours of classroom instruction and 75 mentored home inspections; have passed a board-approved examination; and not have a felony drug conviction unless at least 10 years have elapsed since conviction.
A licensee would be subject to biennial renewal with 32 hours of continuing education requirements. The bill also would require the home inspector to carry liability insurance of at least $250,000 per occurrence.
The bipartisan legislation also would establish statewide standards for the profession of home inspecting and the home inspection report, including a requirement to disclose interior mold to clients.
“The purchase of a home can quickly turn into a nightmare if the inspection is not conducted completely or properly,” Helm said. “Not reporting vital information can lead to costly repairs, health issues and burdens that no homebuyer should have to bare.”
