The Rhode Island Association of Home Inspectors convinced the Senate last fall of the importance of mandating the licensing of home inspectors, but failed to make the same argument to the House. This year, the issue has again made its way to the State House where proponents plan to elevate lobbying efforts. Last year, the proposal was approved by the Senate by a vote of 48 to 0, but never made it out of the House Corporations Committee.
Attempts to pass similar legislation in Rhode Island failed in 1992 and again in 1993.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
The legislation includes a two-year phase in period, which allows anyone who has conducted 100 home inspections and meets certain other requirements — including having a high school diploma or equivalent — to apply for a license.
All home inspection licenses will require liability insurance and insurance for errors and omission.
New home inspectors, under the proposal, would be compelled to pass a test devised by the state Contractors’ Registration Board and subsequently complete an apprenticeship program in which they assisted in no less than 25 home inspections in the presence of a licensed inspector. They are also required to have a high school diploma or equivalent.
Home inspections are often a contingency of a real estate sale. Home inspectors generate written reports after completing an inspection that can take from a couple of hours to as many as five. The cost starts at around $200, but could become more expensive for additional inspections, such as septic systems, wells and radon.
Paul Brunetti, president of the Rhode Island Association of Home Inspectors, is confident that the momentum the association gained in the 1999 General Assembly session will carry forward this year. He points to laws adopted in Massachusetts and Connecticut in 1999 as evidence of a trend toward the licensing of home inspectors.
“It looks better this year,” said Brunetti. “The trend now is licensing. It’s all around us.”
Brunetti said the measure is about consumer protection and legitimizing the home inspection industry.
“It will bring professionalism to home inspection – a set of standards,” he said. “Right now, anything will fly. Anyone could be a home inspector tomorrow.”
The Association of Home Inspectors has hired Richard Sinapi, a lawyer with offices in Cranston, to lobby on behalf of the proposal.
”Some of the questions that legislators had were not clearly addressed last year,” said Sinapi. “Based on my experience with the industry – going back about 12 years – I believe we will be able to address those concerns and persuade them of the importance of this bill.”
But Robert A. Cardoza, vice president of Budget Home Inspection Co. on Elmwood Avenue in Warwick, doesn’t see the need for the licensing. In fact, said Cardoza, the business is already regulated.
”Our business is regulated by liability issues,” said Cardoza. “If you don’t do your job, you are going to get sued. If you get sued enough, you’re going to be out of business.”
Many home inspectors are bonded, which provides a sense of recourse for the homebuyer – and in other cases, buyers may be asked to sign off on an inspection, thus limiting the liability of the inspector.
Cardoza argues that there has been no hue and cry from consumers to have home inspectors licensed. And he worries that the state – once the licensing system is in place – will see the industry as an avenue for increasing tax revenues.
”When the state budget does not have a surplus – the state will look to raise fees for licenses,” he said.
The current proposal calls for a $200 fee for a license that would be good for two years.
Cardoza has another problem with the licensing proposal — the fact that it does not address a significant problem in the industry, he said. That, said Cardoza, is the often-cozy relationship between real estate agents and home inspectors.
Cardoza said that all too often, real estate agents recommend home inspectors with whom they are friendly – and from whom they do not expect to hear about a lot of problems with a given property.
Because he has been vocal about the issue, said Cardoza, he doesn’t get any Realtor recommendations and has started advertising that fact in the Yellow Pages – with a line that reads “No Realtor Affiliation.”
”We don’t inspect houses for Realtors, we inspect them for buyers,” said Cardoza. “The purpose of the home inspector is to inform the buyer of the true condition of the house.”
Cardoza does not see the proposed legislation addressing the relationship between real estate agents and home inspectors.
”If this person has a license, how does that change how he is going to do business,” he asked?
David Iannuccilli, a real estate agent with RE/MAX Professionals in East Greenwich, who helped to draft the original legislation to license home inspectors, considers Cardoza’s comments to be off-base.
A real estate agent, said Iannuccilli, is often the person a buyer may meet and as a result, is often asked for recommendations regarding everything from home inspections to financing.
“We should always be recommending at least three people we know,” he said. “Of course it is going to be someone we know, and who we think will do a good job. But the choice is purely up to the customer.”
Iannuccilli said the intent of the licensing legislation is simple.
“The consumer deserves to hire someone with legitimacy,” he said. “We, as Realtors, need to be licensed. These are all about consumer awareness. Let’s set a bar that people have to qualify to – and give the consumer a feeling of safety.”
