House Bill 0465
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 465
By Representatives Turnbull, Brown, Ogles, Futch and J.
Miller
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to home inspection services;
3 creating s. 501.935, F.S.; providing
4 requirements relating to home inspection
5 services; providing legislative intent;
6 providing definitions; providing certain
7 inspector qualifications and practice
8 standards; providing exemptions; requiring,
9 prior to inspection, provision of inspector
10 credentials, a caveat, a disclosure of
11 conflicts of interest and certain
12 relationships, and a statement or agreement of
13 scope, limitations, terms, and conditions;
14 requiring a report on the results of the
15 inspection; prohibiting certain acts, for which
16 there are civil penalties; providing that
17 failure to comply is a deceptive and unfair
18 trade practice; providing an effective date.
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20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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22 Section 1. Section 501.935, Florida Statutes, is
23 created to read:
24 501.935 Home inspection services; qualifications and
25 standards; required disclosures prior to inspection; report on
26 inspection results; prohibited acts; failure to comply.--
27 (1) INTENT.--The Legislature recognizes that the
28 performance of a home inspection requires certain unique
29 skills and that a home inspection should not be confused with
30 an engineering analysis, the practice of engineering, the
31 practice of architecture, a code enforcement inspection,
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 465
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1 contracting as defined in chapter 489, or an appraisal as
2 defined in chapter 475. Therefore, it is in the public
3 interest to require the disclosure of information useful to
4 assist consumers in choosing a qualified home inspector, to
5 inform them of the limitations of a home inspection, and to
6 prohibit actions that conflict with the best interests of a
7 home inspector's client.
8 (2) DEFINITIONS.--For the purposes of this section:
9 (a) "Home inspector" means any person who provides or
10 offers to provide a home inspection on residential real
11 property for a fee or other compensation.
12 (b) "Home inspection" means an examination, done for
13 compensation, of the mechanical and physical components of
14 residential real property through visual means and operation
15 of normal user controls, without necessarily the use of any
16 mathematical or engineering science. The inspection may
17 include, but is not limited to, examination of the readily
18 visible portions of the structural, electrical, heating,
19 central air-conditioning, roofing, plumbing, insulation and
20 ventilation, and cladding systems, doors and windows, interior
21 surfaces, and chimneys and fireplaces.
22 (3) HOME INSPECTION SERVICES; QUALIFICATIONS,
23 STANDARDS.--
24 (a) No person shall offer home inspection services as
25 a board-certified home inspector, or represent himself or
26 herself as a board-certified home inspector, unless such
27 person has passed the National Home Inspector Examination
28 (NHIE), offered by the Examination Board of Professional Home
29 Inspectors, or any other examination deemed to be
30 psychometrically valid by the Secretary of Business and
31 Professional Regulation.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 465
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1 (b) The minimum standard of practice for home
2 inspection by a person representing himself or herself as a
3 board-certified home inspector shall be the version of the
4 Standards of Practice of the American Society of Home
5 Inspectors effective January 1, 2000, or any other
6 consensus-based home inspection standard deemed equivalent by
7 the Secretary of Business and Professional Regulation.
8 (4) EXEMPTIONS.--A person licensed as a construction
9 contractor under chapter 489, an architect under chapter 481,
10 or an engineer under chapter 471 is not required to comply
11 with this section with regard to any report, survey,
12 evaluation, or estimate rendered within the scope of practice
13 authorized by such license.
14 (5) DISCLOSURE.--Prior to entering into a contract for
15 home inspection and prior to performing any home inspection, a
16 home inspector must provide the following to any person who
17 will enter into a contract to have a home inspection and who,
18 as a client of the inspector, has requested the inspection:
19 (a) A written list of the home inspector's
20 credentials, including whether or not the inspector is board
21 certified.
22 (b) A caveat in 10-point or larger boldfaced type that
23 states:
24 "AN INSPECTION IS INTENDED TO ASSIST IN EVALUATION OF
25 THE OVERALL CONDITION OF A BUILDING. THE INSPECTION IS BASED
26 ON OBSERVATION OF THE VISIBLE AND APPARENT CONDITION OF THE
27 BUILDING AND ITS COMPONENTS ON THE DATE OF THE INSPECTION.
28 THE RESULTS OF THIS HOME INSPECTION ARE NOT INTENDED TO MAKE
29 ANY REPRESENTATION REGARDING LATENT OR CONCEALED DEFECTS THAT
30 MAY EXIST, AND NO WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE IS EXPRESSED OR
31 IMPLIED. IT SHOULD BE UNDERSTOOD THAT A HOME INSPECTION IS A
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1 GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE CONDITION OF THE BUILDING AND
2 COMPONENTS. THE HOME INSPECTOR IS NOT NECESSARILY A
3 PROFESSIONAL WITH LICENSES AUTHORIZING THE RENDERING OF
4 DETAILED OPINIONS REGARDING ALL OF THE ITEMS OR SYSTEMS
5 INCLUDED IN THE INSPECTION. YOU MAY BE ADVISED TO SEEK AN
6 OPINION FROM AN APPROPRIATELY LICENSED PROFESSIONAL AS TO ANY
7 DEFECTS OR CONCERNS MENTIONED IN THE REPORT."
8 (c) A written disclosure to the client of any conflict
9 of interest or relationship of the home inspector which may
10 affect the client.
11 (d) A written statement or agreement declaring the
12 home inspector's scope of services, limitations, terms, and
13 conditions regarding the home inspection.
14 (6) REPORT.--A home inspector must provide to the
15 client, within 3 working days after the date of the home
16 inspection or at any other time agreed upon by both parties, a
17 written report of the results of the home inspection.
18 (7) PROHIBITIONS.--A home inspector may not:
19 (a) Accept any commission, allowance, gift, or other
20 thing of value from another party dealing with a client of the
21 inspector which relates to the inspection or conditions
22 reported by the home inspector.
23 (b) Offer any commission, allowance, gift, or other
24 thing of value to another party dealing with a client of the
25 inspector which relates to the inspection.
26 (c) Perform, or offer to perform, for a fee, remedial
27 work on a property which the inspector has inspected in the
28 preceding 12 months.
29 (d) Disclose, without the client's written consent, a
30 home inspection report to any person other than the client.
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Florida House of Representatives - 2000 HB 465
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1 (8) FAILURE TO COMPLY.--Failure to comply with any
2 provision of this section constitutes a deceptive and unfair
3 trade practice.
4 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2000.
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7 HOUSE SUMMARY
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Provides requirements relating to home inspection
9 services. Provides legislative intent and definitions.
Provides inspection qualifications and practice standards
10 for home inspectors representing themselves as board
certified. Provides exemptions. Requires, prior to
11 inspection, provision of inspector credentials, a caveat,
a disclosure of conflicts of interest and certain
12 relationships, and a statement or agreement of scope,
limitations, terms, and conditions. Requires a report on
13 the results of the inspection. Prohibits certain acts,
for which there are civil penalties. Provides that
14 failure to comply is a deceptive and unfair trade
practice. See bill for details.
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