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Read the following overview and if you agree, e-mail the Governor at ONCE!

 

 

The following synopsis represents the opinion of the Contractors Institute and the Building Officials Institute. It is based on our opinions gained from our involvement with the men and women in our industry and the opinions of our constituents that have voiced concerns about the subject.

 

Senate Bill 2234 as sent to Governor Christ for his signature:

 

Bill summary:

This bill has a two fold purpose; (1) to regulate residential home inspection services and (2) to regulate mold assessment and remediation services

 

Bill exclusions:

Under the home inspection services, state certified or registered General, Building, and Residential contractors licensed under F.S. 489 will not be able to provide home inspection services unless tested and licensed under the newly created provision.

 

Likewise Building Inspectors and Residential One and Two family Dwelling Inspectors currently licensed under F.S. 468 working individually or as a private provider will not be able to hold themselves out as a home inspector unless tested and licensed under the newly created provision.

 

Architects and Engineers licensed under F.S. 471 or 481 will not be able to hold themselves out as a home inspector unless tested and licensed under the newly created provision.

 

Although the bill does contain a grandfathering provision it is only for those who have been marketing themselves as such (with conditions) and in our opinion will do more harm than good since it will open the flood-gate for those who have been doing it as unlicensed entities all along since licensing has not been statutorily required for those services heretofore.

 

 

Purpose of bill:

Although sent to the governor under the guise of “to ensure that consumers of home inspection services can rely on the competence of home inspectors, as determined by educational and experience requirements and testing.”  The reality of the bill is that it will allow many of those “quasi-licensed” under “nationally recognized” groups a way to become state licensed or certified when they otherwise are not qualified. The last attempt at this was wisely vetoed by then Governor Bush, and I hope this newly re-packaged attempt is likewise thwarted by Governor Christ.

 

These groups decry a great need for the regulation when in fact the only real need is to define these services mandatorily under existing applicable licensing categories. For instance, residential inspections should only be performed by someone licensed as a general, building or residential contractor under the construction industry licensing board or a residential one and two family dwelling inspector under the Building Code Administrators and Inspectors Board or any Florida licensed Architect or Engineer. There are ample personnel already licensed under these boards to perform all needed services. Why re-invent the wheel?

 

Most of the members of groups pushing for this bill would not qualify for nor could meet the standards imposed for such licensure as it exists - hence their desire for a new category rife with the “grandfathering” provisions or ample transitory time to accrue the requisite experience during the implementation period.

 

Probably the most disturbing is the bill’s provision that prevents a home inspector from inspecting and offering repairs on same – even at the request of the owner. The guise here presumably is that there would be “a conflict of interest”. Although certain groups cite examples of how such activities lead to defrauding an owner, these cases are outside of Florida, and rarely verified. Here, in Florida, where such services are routinely provided by licensed contracting companies; no such problem exists! In fact, this combined service in Florida is commonly performed to the financial benefit of all parties.

 

This bill will effectively kill all of that benefit. Imagine the impact on owners from the loss of this ability after the next natural disaster and the financial fattening of the new “inspectors” pockets! You must use his/her services separate and apart from the contractor!

 

In fact, the problem in Florida is that many of these currently un-licensed “home” inspectors are the ones misleading and oftentimes harming the public – not existing state licensed contractors or inspectors. These un-licensed inspectors are commonly incompetent in knowledge of Florida specific construction codes, standards and regulations and lack foundational construction knowledge and experience.

 

Their solution? Create this bill and bring them into the fold of existing Florida licensed professionals by way of the bill’s grandfathering provisions. This is tantamount to opening the henhouse to let the foxes in!

 

Florida licensed contractors have been performing “design-build” services for years. They often design and construct their own residences. How inappropriate and misguided to now attempt to legislate a requirement that in essence says: “you are qualified to design and build the structure without a conflict of interest; but you are not qualified to inspect the home and offer repairs on same.”

 

How insulting to our licensed professionals who do not deserve this restriction – for they have done nothing to warrant such. How regretful that the owner will now oftentimes pay more for those same repairs since he/she will not get the benefit of a better price since a new contractor will now spend time overviewing the same corrections that the previous contractor has been paid to discover and document during the previous inspection. This is a lose-lose proposition for many owners repairing and selling a home, especially post disaster.

 

Even the new “My Safe Florida Home” program allows for and inspection and repairs by the same entity. Why are home inspection requirements different in this bill?

 

No need for special licensure:

Florida has a competency standard already in place for such inspectors: Contractors licensed under F.S. 489.105(3)(a-c),and inspectors licensed under F.S. 468.603(6)(g)

 

Both statutes require prequalification and completion of proctored examinations. Both have disciplinary boards and codes of conduct in place whose rules can simply be augmented, if necessary, to apply when performing these services specifically. Both are the categories with the most expertise in these areas of inspections.

 

Think of it this way; If this bill becomes law, a person who is not licensed as a contractor, not capable of preparing construction documents, not able to obtain a permit for building or repairing the structure is going to be licensed by the state to inspect the residence, note what a licensed contract has done wrong or alternatively determine what work must be corrected to meet a code they are not competent to comprehend. Silly, isn’t it?

 

And don’t think; “well, they are only inspecting existing houses for sale” Not true. NOTHING in this bill limits their duties specifically to such inspections. Many owners now hire them to inspect construction progress (not aware they are not state licensed), hire them as an owner agent when F.S. 558 Construction Disputes requirements are being implemented (most of these unlicensed inspectors are the catalyst for such action), when arbitration or mediation avenues are followed (for advise and as “expert witnesses), etc… This is true now with these inspectors acting “unlicensed”. Imagine the catastrophe when they ARE licensed. So, this isn’t the simple “home inspector” a person outside of the construction arena might imagine. Florida construction laws, codes and regulations are far too complex for such casual licensure.

 

 

 

Mold assessment and remediation provisions:

The bill creates a mold assessor and mold remediators category. The same provisions found in the home inspector section have telegraphed into this section regarding the ability of an assessor to remediate the mold discovered by him or her.

 

Again, there are no problems occurring in Florida that involve fraud or schemes to defraud or inflate mold remediation when performed by licensed contractors. All such activities have been done by people outside the licensed arena since it currently does not require licensure to perform. The answer however is not to add additional categories and tests, but to simply require that this work be performed by someone licensed under the existing statutory requirements of F.S. 489 105(3)(a-c); General, Building or Residential Contractor.

 

Here as before, to say a contractor is competent to design-build an entire structure and then incompetent to assess fungal contamination, determine the source and components involved, and then remediate the conditions is ludicrous!

 

Many of our major problems are from persons outside the construction arena misdiagnosing the source of moisture gain from the structure’s components and/or equipment; thereby mandating vast amounts of work (and expended sums) chasing an incorrect diagnosis or hypothesis. This oftentimes happens because the assessor did not have a thorough knowledge of construction principles and practices. It is these same people now that want state recognition of themselves or their “nationally recognized” memberships that are the perpetrators of many of these problems.

 

The educational requirement for mold assessors on its face is acceptable. Naturally one should have experience and training in assessing such. In fact, many good training programs are readily available to the state licensed contractors and they avail themselves to such training. But to say that a firm with assessment training and experience that also has a construction division cannot diagnose and remediate for the benefit of owner is wrong. The motives of the current assessors who advance such a call for restrictions are clear – reduce such competition and fatten the “assessors” coffers.

 

Governor Christ, If you sign this provision, once fully implemented, the cost for mold identification and remediation will skyrocket for all hurricane re-construction that follows it.

 

Please see this bill for what it is and veto it. Require the essential provisions be moved into existing categories of licensure and save the taxpayers a lot of money by way of unnecessary governmental regulation and save the consumer money by being able to bargain for “sole-source” inspection/repairs or assessment/remediation services from licensed entities.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Koning

Director Contractors Institute

Director Building Officials Institute

Moderator My Florida Code

rjkoning@contractorsinstitute.com

 

 

 

Contact Governor Christ by going to his website form page: http://www.flgov.com/contact_form

 

Please cut and paste the following text into the message box on the form page:

 

Governor Christ; Please veto Senate Bill 2234. We concur with the opinions of the Contractors Institute and Building Officials Institute in that the bill is bad for the citizens of Florida, will diminish the protection it purports to achieve and will create the expense of unnecessary laws and regulations that the citizens of Florida will need to bear. Please go to: www.contractorsinstitute.com/emergency and read the compendium of objectionable provisions and the effect of the bill.