Ohio Administrative Code › Title 1301:17 - Home Inspector › Chapter 1301:17-1 - Home Inspector Board › Section 1301:17-1-17 - Standards of practice

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A) These standards of practice apply to
			 licensed Ohio home inspectors who are providing home inspections services
			 pursuant to Chapter 4764. of the Revised Code.
(B) Ohio licensed home inspectors shall
			 comply with all applicable Ohio laws and regulations.
(C) Licensees who perform home inspections
			 are not required to identify or disclose a 
								property's
			 concealed conditions, latent defects, or cosmetic
			 deficiencies that do not significantly affect a 
								property's
			 system or part of a 
								system's performance for the
			 
								system's intended purpose. A
			 
								licensee's inspection is limited to a visual and not
			 technically exhaustive examination of readily accessible components and systems
			 as of the specific date and time the inspection occurred.
(D) Any licensee who elects to operate,
			 inspect, or offer an opinion in a home inspection
			 report regarding any of the items found in this rule that were excluded from
			 the 
								licensee's responsibility shall not do so in a
			 careless or misleading manner.
(E)
			 A licensee is not required to determine or offer an opinion about any of the
			 following items in a home inspection report for a property inspected:
(1) The condition of a system or part of
			 system installed in a property that is not readily accessible;
(2) The estimated remaining life of a system
			 or part of a system;
(3) The
			 adequacy or efficiency of a system or part of a system;
(4) The source or causes of conditions or
			 deficiencies in the property;
(5)
			 The estimated costs to correct deficiencies in the property;
(6) Forecasting future conditions about the
			 property, including but not limited to, forecasting the failure of systems or
			 parts of system in a property;
(7)
			 The appropriateness or suitability of a property for any use other than for
			 residential purposes;
(8) The
			 compliance of a system or parts of a system in a property with past,
			 present, or future requirements which include but
			 are not limited to codes, regulations, laws, ordinances, builder
			 specifications, installation and maintenance instructions, care or use
			 guides;
(9) The marketability or
			 market value of the property;
(10)
			 The presence at the property of any animals, environmental hazards or
			 substances that may be hazardous or harmful to any living being;
(11) The effectiveness or efficiency of any
			 system installed at the property to control or remove any animals,
			 environmental hazards, or substances from the
			 property;
(12) The estimated
			 operating cost of a system or parts of a system;
(13) The sound quality or acoustical
			 properties of a system or parts of a system;
(14) Soil conditions relating to geotechnical
			 or hydrologic specialties;
(15)
			 Determine or report on materials, conditions, systems, or parts of systems subject to recall, litigation,
			 or other adverse claims or conditions;
(16) The legality of any contract or contract
			 term pertaining to the property.