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National Certification and Accreditation
Model for Home and Property Inspectors

CHIBO II Report: Executive Summary

In Canada, home and property inspectors provide two essential services:

• Private home inspection services to existing residential and small commercial buildings
• Advising on the condition of buildings and building components

In 1999, the Canadian Home Inspectors and Building Officials National Initiative (CHIBO) was launched to
enhance the credibility and status of the building inspection industry, as well as to harmonize licensing,
standards of performance and certification of both home and property inspectors and professional building
officials across Canada.

The industry-led initiative began as a partnership effort involving the Canadian Association of Home and
Property Inspectors (CAHPI) and the Alliance of Canadian Building Officials’ Associations (ACBOA) and the
first deliverable from the CHIBO initiative was the development of National Occupational Standards (NOS)
for Home and Property Inspectors (HPI) and Building Officials (PBO) respectively. The National Occupational
Standards describe the range and depth of skills, knowledge and ability necessary to perform occupational
tasks at a professional level.

As a result, the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors (CAHPI) was formed to represent the
existing provincial associations and oversee a uniform national standard of competency, certification and
accreditation for the private home inspection industry.

At the present time the Canadian home and property inspection occupation is largely unregulated. While a
national certification program would provide benefits to individual home and property inspectors,
widespread acceptance of national certification will only come when influential national groups that use
the services of home and property inspectors exert pressure on the industry. Groups that could exert strong
pressure for the national certification of home and property inspectors include:

• Mortgage Lenders
• Realtors
• Property Insurers
• Provincial Regulators
• Professional Liability Insurance Underwriters

In 2003, the second CHIBO project commenced (CHIBO II). The primary objective of CHIBO II was:
"To establish and develop certification and accreditation models that will lead to a recognizable and
credible inspection industry and also increase worker mobility between jurisdictions."

The CHIBO project consisted of four ‘steps’. The first step consisted of a documentation review and gap
analysis. The CSC reviewed existing curriculum and training materials and compared the materials to the
National Occupational Standard developed for home and property inspectors. The second step consisted of
a review and assessment of existing certification models for home and property inspectors, leading to a
national certification model. The third step consisted of a review and assessment of existing models used
to accredit course, programs, and training providers. The fourth step consisted of the creation of a basic
strategic framework for the model. Although there are some unknowns, the strategic framework outlines
how the model for home and property inspectors could be implemented.

The governance and structural elements of the models are based on criteria defined in the CAN-P-9
Standard ‘Criteria for Accreditation of Personnel Certification Bodies’. The CAN-P-9 Standard is published
by the Standards Council of Canada, and is based on the international ISO standard ISO/IEC 17024.
This report assumes CAHPI will hold the right to certify. Elements of this authority will be delegated to a
National Certification Council, a National Registrar, a National Accreditation Committee, and to other
committees, associations, and organizations as appropriate.

Individuals who are within the National Certification Program will be at one of two stages – ‘Candidate’ or
‘National Certificate Holder’ (NCH). The ‘Candidate’ stage is for individuals who have the appropriate
training and who have displayed the required degree of competence to be home and property inspectors
but lack experience to obtain certification. The ‘NCH’ stage is for individuals who have the appropriate
training, experience and competence.

A ‘Background Review’ process will be used by the National Certification Council to determine the
appropriate stage for each individual. Any individual who wants to be considered for either stage would
apply to the National Certification Council and present their personal background. Background review
criteria are based on the tasks defined in the National Occupational Standard for home and property
inspectors.

Accreditation is the process a certification body uses to determine whether the courses or programs offered
by training providers meet some or all of the skill and knowledge requirements of a National Occupational
Standard. It also involves an assessment of a provider’s ability to provide a consistent standard of training.
For home and property inspectors, accreditation will be the responsibility of a National Accreditation
Committee. As part of this project, a large number of courses and programs related to home and property
inspection were reviewed and compared to the National Occupational Standard.

In order to implement and administer the National Certification Program a number of roles would need to
be established, with formally defined responsibilities and inter relationships. These roles include the:

• National Certification Body (CAHPI)
• National Certification Council
• National Registrar
• National Accreditation Committee

All roles and responsibilities related to the National Certification Program will be aligned to CAN-P-9
criteria.

Other issues to consider prior to implementation include the large number of home and property inspectors
who will need to undergo background review in order to be properly placed within the national certification
program, the time that a National Certification Council will require to conduct background review, and the
cost of conducting background review.
 

• Copyright© CAHPI, October 2005 - All rights reserved
• Document reproduced with the permission of CAHPI.
   

Certification and Accreditation Model: Full Text (PDF) 91 Pages, 1.27MB
National Certification Process: Visit CAHPI website.
View CAHPI Brochure: How to apply.

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