New home inspector regulations are inches – or weeks- away from becoming effective.
The highlights will be:
● A requirement that inspection reports include a statement that “a home inspection report does not address environmental hazards.“ 815 KAR 6:030 Sec. 3. That statement always has been in the statute, at KRS 198B.706(1)(b). But, until now, the KBHI simply failed to adopt the required regulation, making it a rule for home inspectors. The KBHI is just doing what the law says, about a decade after the law said it.
But the Board gave home inspectors a real boost in writing the rule. It spells out “environmental hazards,” for the first time. Definitions of “enviro hazards” have been a frequent source of contention in complaints and litigation – until now.
The rule now lists 17 examples of general environmental hazards.
It provides that “the presence or evidence” of those hazards “shall not be addressed in the report.”
● A refusal to lower license fees – even after the Board could not figure out how to spend over $300,000.00 in licensee fees that were “swept” into the general fund budget in the past state budget crunch. Instead, the KBHI is adding new fees – up to $500 – for late filed renewals. And it is giving itself a pay raise. The pay raise is what stalled approval of the regulations to date.
● A burn-down of online education.The new rules cannot be met solely with online courses – for CE, or to get a new license. Mandatory CE for renewing licenses will require a new in-person 3 hour CE course on “report writing.” Pre-license courses will require “supervised” inspections. The new rule requires that the existing requirement of 3 satisfactory home inspections now be done “under the supervision of a Kentucky licensed home inspector.” 815 KAR 6:010 Sec. 1(8)(b).
● A slight-of-hand effort to ditch CE courses about business skills. The new 815 KAR 6:080 Sec. 1(2), which says the “board may approve CE courses that .. Relate to the technical skills required of licensees.” In contrast, existing 815 KAR Sec. 5(3) says “the board shall approve CE courses which: (a) Appropriately relate to the general business skills or the technical skills required of licensees.” No notice of the change was given to the Legislative Research Commission when the regulation was filed, contrary to settled law, so it probably is unsupportable if challenged. But no CE provider should have to challenge, or even bother. Instead, it should be obvious it is contrary to the public interest to have home inspection businesses fail for lack of basic business skills, instead of standing behind their work.
● A late filing “grace period”for renewals – and extra fee(s). 815 KAR 6:010 Sec. 4(2)-(4).
● Twice the background check, if you live out of state.815 KAR 6:010Sec. 1(1)(f); 1(9)(a),(b); .
● A rule against taking the same CE course twice in any renewal cycle. 815 KAR 6:010 Sec. 5(9).
● A new requirement for 3 CE hours in “report writing” for every renewal – that can only be “completed face-to-face.“ 815 KAR 6:010 Sec. 5(8). “An online report writing course shall not satisfy this continuing education requirement.” 815 KAR 6:010 Sec. 5(3)(c).
Home inspectors will end up with a new set of 8 new regulations, instead of today’s four. For details – and the full text – CLICK HERE.
Note: References to regulations are from the Dec. 9, 2014 drafts as submitted and are not final. Numbering may change. PLI will keep you posted.
No home inspector, home buyer, or real estate agent ever wrote a letter to the KBHI asking for any of this latest set of regulations. Actually, it’s funny that several of the changes simply undo the last changes in the last cycle of Wonder Regs. So, while bureaucrats push paper, PLI sticks with the same message, unchanged from Day One:
Let’s Stay Safe Out There!