PROPOSED RULES
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 10-15-054.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: This proposal will create a rule for required qualifications for licensed home inspector instructors who provide the forty hours of field training to applicants seeking licensure un [under] chapter 18.280 RCW, the law relating to the licensing of home inspectors.
Hearing Location(s): 2000 4th Avenue West, 2nd Floor Conference Room, Olympia, WA 98507, on October 26, 2010, at 10:00 a.m.
Date of Intended Adoption: October 26, 2010.
Submit Written Comments to: Rhonda Myers, 2000 4th Avenue West, Olympia, WA 98507, e-mail rmyers@dol.wa.gov, fax (360) 586-0998, by October 25, 2010.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Sally Adams by October 9, 2010, TTY (360) 664-0116 or (360) 664-6526.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: This will ensure home inspectors providing the required forty hours of field training are licensed in the state of Washington, have completed a minimum of five hundred fee-paid home inspections, and have a minimum of five years of experience in the home inspection profession. Field training shall not exceed a maximum of five students per instructor and may not exceed one student per instructor if the training is performed on fee-paid standard home inspection.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: Home inspectors providing field training will now be required to be licensed, and have the additional experience and time in the business necessary to provide a higher level of training to new home inspector candidates.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.280.050(1).
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 18.280 RCW.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: Department of licensing, governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation and Enforcement: Rhonda Myers, 2000 4th Avenue West, Olympia, WA 98507, (360) 664-6497.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. Rule is for individual licensees, and not small business enterprises.
A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW 34.05.328. The department of licensing is not one of the named agencies under this RCW.
September 14, 2010
Walt Fahrer
Rules Coordinator
(1) "Classroom" means training that takes place in a setting where individuals receiving training are assembled together and learn through lectures, study papers, class discussion, textbook study, or other means of organized formal education techniques, such as video, closed circuit, or other forms of electronic means.
(2) "Comment" means the act of stating one's observations clearly in the report.
(3) "Describe" means the act of stating one's observations clearly in the report.
(4) "Distance education" means a delivery method in which instruction takes place in other than a live classroom setting, the instructor and the student are in physically separate locations, and interactive instructional methods such as video-based instruction, computer conferencing, video conferencing, interactive audio, interactive computer software, correspondence or internet-based instruction are used.
(5) "Enter" means to physically go into an attic, crawlspace, or other area. Simply sticking one's head and shoulders into these areas is not entering.
(6) "Field training" is in addition to the one hundred twenty hours of classroom instruction and shall be done on actual inspection sites. Field training must include forty hours of instruction with a minimum of five actual complete home inspections done to the standards of practice under the supervision of an experienced inspector. The applicant will be required to complete written reports for each inspection and the supervisor will review the reports and certify that they are in full compliance with the standards of practice. The forty hours of supervised instruction will not include travel time to and from inspection, meals, and report writing time. Instructors providing the 40 hours of field training must meet the following requirements:
1. Be a Washington State Licensed Home Inspector
2. Have completed a minimum of 500 fee-paid home inspections
3. Have a minimum of five years experience in the home inspection profession
Field training shall not exceed a maximum of five students per instructor and may no exceed one student per instructor if the training is performed on a fee-paid standard home inspection.
(7) "Interactive" means the course structure and technologies promote active student involvement with the course content, including the ability to:
(a) Access or bypass optional content, if applicable;
(b) Submit questions or answer test items, and receive direct feedback; and
(c) Communicate with the instructor and/or other students on an immediate or reasonably delayed basis.
Interactive instruction specifically excludes courses that only provide passive delivery of instructional content.
(8) "Passive" means there is no required or actual interaction or feedback between the student and instructor.
(9) "Preinspection agreement" is a written contract signed by the client that outlines the standards and work to be performed by the home inspector.
(10) "Preoffer consultation" is a verbal report that is limited in scope performed by a licensed home inspector. A preinspection agreement must be signed by the client and describe the limited scope of the consultation. This preoffer consultation is conducted only prior to mutual acceptance.
(11) "Readily accessible" means available for visual inspection without requiring moving personal property, dismantling, destructive measures, or any action that likely will involve risk to persons or property.
(12) "Record" means the act of stating one's observations clearly in the report.
(13) "Report" means the act of stating one's observations clearly in the report.
(14) "Standard home inspection" is a prelisting or presale written report that contains all or most of the components listed in the standards of practice. The components must be listed in the preinspection agreement. This standard home inspection report cannot be delivered verbally and must be in writing.
(15) "Technically exhaustive" is an investigation that involves dismantling, the extensive use of advanced techniques, measurements, instruments, testing, calculations or other means.
(16) "Traverse" means the act of physically moving through a crawlspace or attic or over the surface of a roof during an inspection when it is safe to do so.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.280.050 and 18.280. [18.280.060](6). 09-13-001, § 308-408-010, filed 6/3/09, effective 7/4/09.]
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.280.050 and 18.280. [18.280.060](6). 09-13-001, § 308-408-010, filed 6/3/09, effective 7/4/09.]
Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.
Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.