July/August 2019

PE Report
Pennsylvania Society Opposes Home Inspection Licensing Bill

A bill in the Pennsylvania General Assembly would place the regulation and licensing of home inspectors under the state board that regulates the practice of engineers, land surveyors, and geologists. The Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers opposes the move.

Under current state law, an individual who provides home inspection services must be a member of an association such as the American Society of Home Inspectors or the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. Professional engineers and architects, however, are exempt from this membership requirement.

If enacted, the bill (H.B. 21) would amend the Engineering, Land Surveyor, and Geologist Registration Law to require that the same state licensing board license and regulate home inspectors and home inspectors-in-training. The bill defines “home inspection” as a noninvasive visual examination of the systems and the essential components of a residential dwelling designed to identify material defects in those systems and components and performed for a fee in connection with or preparation for a proposed or possible residential real estate transfer.

In addition to establishing the examination, education, experience, and license renewal requirements, the legislation also amends the registration law to expand the number of licensing board members from nine to eleven to allow the governor to appoint two licensed home inspectors.

PSPE says the bill is flawed and believes that licensing of home inspectors shouldn’t be a job for the current design professional licensing board. The society encouraged its members to contact legislators to express their opposition to the bill and to emphasize that home inspection is not a design profession like the other groups licensed by the board. For example, the current education, experience, and examination requirements for a PE license exceed those for current home inspection certification as well as those proposed in the bill for home inspection licensure requirements.

PSPE also believes that adding another profession to the board will only increase the challenges it faces from a shortage of resources.