SECTION 158:70-11-2. Additional prohibited acts

(a)   No person, entity, or firm may engage in or perform home inspection work without first obtaining a license or registration pursuant to these Rules.

(b)   No person shall offer to engage in work as a home inspector during the period his or her license is suspended or revoked.

(c)   No employing home inspection firm shall employ or use an unlicensed home inspector to perform home inspection work.

(d)   No person, entity, or firm may transfer a license or registration.

(e)   No home inspector, licensed pursuant to this Chapter, shall enter into an agreement for the use of his or her license with any firm or person who is, or has been adjudicated to be, in violation of any provision of the Act, or whose license is currently suspended or has within the last year been revoked, unless or until otherwise approved by the Board.

(f)   No person shall make a materially false or fraudulent statement in an application for license or for approval of continuing education, engage in cheating, or otherwise commit an act in violation of OAC 158:70-9-2(g).

(g)   No person shall falsify or fail to disclose in a home inspection report a material defect.

(h)   No person shall accept inspection assignments when the employment itself is contingent upon reporting a predetermined estimate, analysis or opinion.

(i)   No person shall accept inspection assignments when the fee to be paid is contingent upon the opinion, the conclusion, analysis, or report reached, or upon the consequences resulting from such assignments.

(j)   No person shall perform a home inspection upon a home, or any part thereof, where the home inspector has solicited or performed any work or repair service therein upon a system or component described in Subchapter 1 of this Chapter, within the previous thirty (30) days. If the person performing the home inspection has performed such work within the previous one-hundred eighty (180) days, such prior work must be disclosed to the client.

(k)   No person shall solicit or perform work or repair services upon a home, or any part thereof, that the home inspector has inspected for one (1) year after the date of the inspection.

(l)   No person shall knowingly accept compensation from more than one client for a single home inspection, unless the home inspector has informed all clients who are paying a fee for that home inspection that such compensation is sought or anticipated.

(m)   Unless upon demand in writing by the Board, a law enforcement agency, or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction, no person shall disclose the results of a home inspection to any person other than the client without the written consent of the client.

(n)   No person shall fail to disclose to the client any conflict of interest of which the inspector knows or should have known that may adversely affect the client. Based upon the potentially adverse affect to the home inspector's ability to produce an unbiased report, some circumstances or conditions are presumed to adversely affect the client and must be disclosed to the client in writing prior to the inspection. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1)   Situations where the payment of remuneration or other consideration is made by the home inspector to a third party and representing a reward or compensation to the third party for the home inspector receiving inspection employment.

(2)   Situations where the payment of remuneration or other consideration is received by the home inspector from a third party and representing a reward or compensation for the home inspector recommending services or products to the client or other persons having an interest in the property.

(3)   In those cases where the client is the buyer of real property, situations where the home inspector has had some prior connection, relationship or association with the seller, his or her assigns or family members related to the seller within the second degree.

(4)   Situations where prior reports or inspections have been made or conducted upon any system or component of the real property that the home inspector has agreed to inspect.

(o)   No person shall fail to submit a written home inspection report within a reasonable time as determined by the Board to the client after compensation has been paid to the home inspector.

(p)   A home inspector is prohibited from inspecting a home when an immediate family member is a realtor involved in the transaction.

[Source: Added at 26 Ok Reg 390, eff 11-14-08 (emergency); Added at 26 Ok Reg 2463, eff 7-11-09; Amended at 31 Ok Reg 933, eff 9-12-14; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1073, eff 10-1-20]