Home inspection fees could soar

Photo: Contributed - (Photo: Hugh Cairns)

The new CSA model will impact the real estate industry as a whole. It is expected that the CSA model will cause an inspection to take up to 2 days to complete and will further influence purchase negotiations than what is experienced now.

If you have had a home inspection or are about to have one, in probability it will be conducted by a member of BC’s predominant association of home inspectors, The Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors BC (CAHPI BC). Members of CAHPI BC perform home inspections in accordance with the home inspection industry’s most widely recognized professional standards - the Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors Standards of Practice. Basically, the Standards are a set of well-defined guidelines to evaluate homes that allow the inspection to focus on the condition of the home, rather than cosmetic, code or design issues.

The way home inspections are conducted may be about to change if the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) has their way. Many of us know the name CSA because they are the branding on many of the consumer items that we use in our daily lives. Most of us think of them as the people that approve tools to toys as being safe. What you may not know is the CSA is in the Standards business. Much of the public have never heard of standards, but we come into contact with standards every day without realizing it. Many standards are in places that contribute to safer homes, workplaces and public spaces.

The Canadian Standards Association Group has developed a Standards of Practice for home inspections across Canada that will most certainly have the real estate industry in a buzz. Simply put, the CSA is proposing to get involved in training, testing and certification of home inspectors from coast to coast.

The CSA Group, a growing offshoot of the CSA’s traditional product testing work, already provides training, testing and personnel certification for employees in a number of specialized fields, from the greenhouse gas to medical devices sectors.

BC and Alberta are far ahead of the pack when it comes to accountability in the home inspection profession through the implementation of government licensing. The balance of the Canadian industry has been known to be in need of better regulations. The CSA model is a national one, and that may overstep the advanced development negatively that we have achieved here in BC.

Recently, the CSA has released a draft of their proposed Standard for public review – the Home Inspection Standard "A770". It’s a thick document with far reaching implications, especially when it comes to the pocket book of consumers.

Professional home inspectors in Alberta met a few days back to discuss the CSA Standards. The bottom line is after their review the proposed Home Inspection Standard will dramatically increase the cost of an inspection to the consumer and at the same time may actually reduce consumer protection due to anticipated time and cost increases to comply with the proposed regulation.

Home inspections typically cost between $400 and $600 in BC and Alberta. Industry studies show that the CSA Standard will demand a raise to the future cost of an inspection from $1,200 to $1,800 or even more. It’s my experience that home inspections are an investment, but I have a grave concern that those consumers that most need an inspection will likely have to opt out of having one.

Currently, home inspectors investigate a home and report on hundreds of items through the accepted Standards developed by home inspection associations throughout North America. The new CSA model will impact the real estate industry as a whole. It is expected that the CSA model will cause an inspection to take up to 2 days to complete and will further influence purchase negotiations than what is experienced now.

To read and comment on the proposed CSA Standard A770 directly with the CSA, click this link: CSA Standard A770

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.