Licensed Home Inspectors Act, 2016 Dong, Han — Bill 165 (41st Parliament, 1st Session)

Bill 165, 41-1

Ontario — Bills

role="main" class="main-container container js-quickedit-main-content" id="main-content">

Bill 165, Licensed Home Inspectors Act, 2016

Dong, Han

Please select

View bill

Status

Debates

Acts affected

Original

[41] Bill 165 Original (PDF)

Bill 165 2016

Act to regulate home inspectors

CONTENTS

Preamble

PART I

INTERPRETATION

Definitions

PART II

ADMINISTRATION

Delegation

Designation of administrative authority

Administrative agreement

Policy directions

Compliance by administrative authority

Review

Conflict

Revocation of designation

Condition precedent for exercise of certain powers

Administrative

Authority

Criteria and directives re board members

Board appointments

Change in number of directors

Appointment of a chair

Public access to corporate by-laws

Employees

Not Crown agency

No personal liability, Crown employee

No Crown liability

Indemnification of the Crown

No personal liability, board members and others

Not public money

Audit

Reports

Appointment of Registrar

PART III

HOME INSPECTION LICENCE

Application for licence

Revocation, suspension or refusal to renew licence

Licence conditions

PART IV

OFFENCES

Licence required to perform home inspection

PART V

REGULATIONS

Regulations

PART VI

OTHER AMENDMENTS

Amendments to this Act

Licence Appeal Tribunal Act, 1999

Ontario Labour Mobility Act, 2009

PART VII

COMMENCEMENT AND

SHORT TITLE

Commencement

Short title

Preamble

The purchase of a home is the largest

investment most homeowners will make in their lifetime and homebuyers are

increasingly reliant on home inspectors. The current unregulated environment

for home inspectors poses risk for the consumer. An unqualified home inspection

poses a primarily financial risk from situations such as an unexpected repair

and maintenance costs. In addition to financial risk, in some circumstances the

condition of homes could also constitute a safety risk to homeowners. These

risks ultimately hurt consumer confidence and hurt the home inspection industry

as a whole.

inspections are a good tool for homebuyers, especially new ones. The regulation

of home inspectors will ensure the health of the industry and will create

accountability that is helpful for consumers. As the complexity of home

inspections rises, licensing will raise the standards of the industry.

is important for the Province to protect homebuyers by regulating the home

inspection industry. Increased protection for homebuyers through licensing will

increase consumer trust in the real estate transaction and decrease unnecessary

consumer risk.

Therefore,

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of

the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Part I

Interpretation

Definitions

1. In this Act,

"administrative

authority" means the corporation that the Lieutenant Governor in Council has

designated as such under subsection 2 (1); ("organisme d'application")

"board" means the board of directors of the

administrative authority; ("conseil")

"home inspection" means, subject to the regulations, the

provision of an opinion, in the form of a written report, on the condition of a

residential dwelling based on the results of non-destructive testing; ("inspection

d'habitations")

"licence" means a licence issued under this Act;

("permis")

"licensee" means the holder of a licence; ("titulaire de

permis")

"Minister" means the Minister of Government and Consumer

Services or any other member of the Executive Council to whom the

responsibility for the administration of this Act is assigned or transferred under

the Executive Council Act ; ("ministre")

"Registrar" means the Registrar of the administrative

authority appointed under

section 24; ("registrateur")

"regulations" means the regulations made under this Act;

("règlements")

"residential dwelling" means any premises or part of a

premises occupied exclusively as living accommodation; ("logement")

"Tribunal" means the Licence Appeal Tribunal established

under the Licence Appeal Tribunal Act, 1999 . ("Tribunal")

Part II

Administration

Delegation

Designation

of administrative authority

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council

may, by regulation, designate a not-for-profit corporation without share

capital incorporated under the laws of Ontario as the administrative authority

for the purposes of this Act.

Delegation

of administration

(2) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council

designates a corporation as the administrative authority, the administration of

all provisions of this Act and the regulations, except for this Part and

Part

V, is delegated to the authority and the authority shall carry out the

administration of the delegated provisions.

Administrative

agreement

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in

Council shall not designate a corporation under subsection 2 (1) as the

administrative authority until the Minister and the corporation have entered

into an agreement to be known as the administrative agreement.

Contents

(2) The administrative agreement shall

include, at a minimum, terms related to the following matters with respect to

the administrative authority:

1. The

governance of the authority, including providing for the election of members to

the board.

2. All

matters that the Minister considers necessary for the authority to carry out

the administration of the delegated provisions.

3. The

maintenance by the authority of adequate insurance against liability arising

out of the carrying out of its powers and duties under this Act or the

regulations.

Compliance

with operating principle

(3) The administrative agreement shall

require the administrative authority to comply with the principle of promoting

the protection of the public interest.

Amendment

by Minister

(4) Subject to

section 9, the Minister may

unilaterally amend the administrative agreement, after giving the administrative

authority the notice that the Minister considers reasonable in the

circumstances.

Policy

directions

(1) Subject to

section 9, the

Minister may issue policy directions to the administrative authority related to

its powers and duties under this Act or the regulations, after giving the

authority the notice that the Minister considers reasonable in the

circumstances.

Part

of the administrative agreement

(2) The policy directions are deemed to

form part of the administrative agreement.

Compliance

(3) The administrative authority shall

comply with the policy directions and shall implement measures to do so.

Compliance

by administrative authority

5. In carrying out its powers and duties under

this Act or the regulations, the administrative authority shall comply with the

administrative agreement, this Act, the regulations and other applicable law.

Review

(1) The Minister may,

(

a) require

that policy, legislative or regulatory reviews related to the powers and duties

of the administrative authority under this Act, the regulations or the

administrative agreement be carried out,

(

i) by

or on behalf of the authority, or

(ii) by

a person or entity specified by the Minister; or

(

b) require

that reviews of the administrative authority, of its operations, or of both,

including, without limitation, performance, governance, accountability and

financial reviews, be carried out,

(

i) by

or on behalf of the authority, or

(ii) by

a person or entity specified by the Minister.

Access

to records

(2) If a review is carried out by a person

or entity specified by the Minister, the administrative authority shall give

the person or entity specified by the Minister and the employees of the person

or entity access to all records and other information required to conduct the

review.

Conflict

7. In the event of conflict, this Act and the

regulations prevail over,

(

a) the

administrative agreement;

(

b) the

Corporations Act , the Corporations

Information Act or a regulation made under either of those Acts;

(

c) the

administrative authority's constating documents, by-laws and resolutions.

Revocation

of designation

(1) The Lieutenant Governor in

Council may, by regulation, revoke the designation of the administrative

authority if the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers it advisable to do so

in the public interest.

Revocation

for non-compliance

(2) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may,

by regulation, revoke the designation of the administrative authority if,

(

a) the

authority has failed to comply with this Act, the regulations, other applicable

law or the administrative agreement;

(

b) the

Minister has allowed the authority the opportunity of remedying its default

within a specified time period that the Minister considers reasonable in the

circumstances; and

(

c) the

authority has not remedied its default to the Minister's satisfaction within

the specified time period mentioned in clause (

b) and the Minister has so

advised the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Same,

no restriction on subs. (1)

(3) Nothing in subsection (2) restricts the

ability of the Lieutenant Governor in Council to act under subsection (1).

Revocation

on request

(4) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may,

by regulation, revoke the designation of the administrative authority on the

terms that the Lieutenant Governor in Council considers advisable in the public

interest if the authority requests the revocation.

Transition

(5) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council

revokes the designation of the administrative authority under this section, the

Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, provide for any transitional

matter necessary for the effective implementation of the revocation.

Same

(6) If the Lieutenant Governor in Council

revokes the designation of the administrative authority under this section, any

licence that was valid on the day of the revocation remains valid until three

months after the day that a new administrative authority is designated under

subsection 2 (1).

Condition

precedent for exercise of certain powers

9. The Minister may exercise a power under

subsection 3 (4) or 4 (1) only if the Minister is of the opinion that it is

advisable to exercise the power in the public interest because at least one of

the following conditions is satisfied:

1. The

exercise of the power is necessary to prevent serious harm to the interests of

the public, home inspectors, owners or purchasers or other affected parties.

2. An

event of force majeure has occurred.

3. The

administrative authority is insolvent.

4. The

number of members of the board is insufficient for a quorum.

Administrative Authority

Criteria

and directives re board members

(1) The Minister may, by order,

(

a) establish

competency criteria for members of the board; and

(

b) make

rules about the nomination of members, the appointment or election process, the

length of their terms and whether they may be reappointed or re-elected.

Competency

criteria

(2) A person is qualified to be appointed

or elected to the board only if he or she meets any competency criteria

established under clause (1) (a).

Conflict

(3) In the event of conflict, an order made

under subsection (1) prevails over a by-law or resolution of the administrative

authority.

Board

appointments

(1) The Minister may appoint one

or more members to the board for a term specified in the appointment.

Majority

(2) The number of members appointed by the

Minister shall not form a majority of the board.

Composition

(3) The members appointed by the Minister

may include,

(

a) representatives

of home inspection interest groups; and

(

b) representatives

of other interests as the Minister determines.

Change

in number of directors

12. The Minister may, by order, increase or

decrease the number of members of the boar

Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 165, 41-1
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p41 s1 bill 165 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	11325ae0a5a9edfa9383877338f674f636c0d30c

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (html).