Board delays decision on whether housing code inspections count toward home inspector licensing credit

An item added to the agenda on the morning of the Dec. 17 meeting asked whether housing code or building code inspections should count toward the 100 inspections required for home inspector licensure.

Board members said they had received correspondence, including materials from a person identified as James and earlier notes from Bob Kuzmich. One board member said the documents attempted to show equivalency between job descriptions for housing or code enforcement inspections and the inspections typically required for licensing, but members questioned whether the work is comparable.

"First of all, yeah, there's no standard. It's code come to complex, which is not what the home inspection is," an unnamed board member said, describing differences in scope between code enforcement and residential home inspections. Members noted housing inspectors often inspect multiunit or commercial properties, which can differ substantially from single-family home inspections that are the usual licensing focus.

Chair Larry Ouellette said he had only seen the materials that morning and suggested delaying any action. He moved to postpone the decision to the next meeting to allow members time to read the information; an unnamed board member seconded the motion and the board agreed to defer further action.

The postponement means the board will revisit whether housing code or building code inspections qualify for the licensing inspection-count requirement at a subsequent quarterly meeting after members have had time to review the submitted documentation. No formal policy change was made at the Dec. 17 meeting.