Do I need a home inspection in BC, and what does it cover?
No law makes a buyer get one, but anyone you pay to inspect a home in BC must hold a Consumer Protection BC licence, and the contract must say what the inspection covers, including whether it looks for mould and asbestos.
Opens the report at this answer. A PID always finds the lot; an address needs an exact match.
What the answer means
What it leaves out is for a specialist.
- A licence
- Home inspection is a designated activity under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act, so a home inspector needs a licence from Consumer Protection BC (Home Inspector Licensing Regulation s. 2). To get one, an applicant completes an approved program of at least 150 hours, passes one of the listed exams, goes on at least 50 hours of inspections with an experienced licensee and passes a supervised trial inspection (s. 3). A licence runs for up to 3 years (s. 5), and its number must appear on the inspector's advertising (s. 6 (3)); check it with Consumer Protection BC.
- Insurance
- Consumer Protection BC requires $1 million of errors and omissions cover and $1 million of general liability cover, including water ingress (its obligations page; s. 7.1 (b)).
- The contract
- The contract must give the address, say what the inspection covers, say whether it inspects for mould and for asbestos, and say it is non-invasive or name the invasive steps. It can't leave out a garage or carport, limit the inspector's liability, or shorten the time for a claim (s. 12).
- The report
- The report must be in writing, give an opinion on each thing the contract covers, name what needs expert advice and say what wasn't covered, with the inspector's licence number (s. 13). The inspector can't share it without your permission unless the law requires it or there's a serious health or safety risk, and can't have a conflict of interest that brings them a material gain (s. 9).
- What it leaves out
- An inspection is of what the inspector can see unless the contract names invasive steps (s. 12 (1) (e)). A septic system, a well's flow and water, a buried oil tank, asbestos or vermiculite, radon and where the lot lines run are tests or searches of their own, by a specialist (our reading).
- On rural land
- Ask for the septic system's filing and have an authorized person inspect it; have the well's flow tested and its water tested at an approved lab. See septic, wells and well water quality.
- What it means for a buyer
- Read the contract before the inspection, not after: what it doesn't list isn't inspected. Book the specialists before subjects come off.
Our summary of the Home Inspector Licensing Regulation (B.C. Reg. 12/2009, ss. 2, 3, 5 to 7.1, 9, 12, 13) under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act as consolidated on BC Laws, and Consumer Protection BC's home inspector pages, read 2026-10-19.
Sources, read 2026-10-19 and summarised in our words unless marked otherwise: Home Inspector Licensing Regulation, B.C. Reg. 12/2009; Home inspections: know your obligations, Consumer Protection BC.
Before you buy: who to ask
- Your home inspector or a specialist
- Can the well and septic system be inspected and tested before subjects are removed? What does your contract leave out on this property, and is mould or asbestos covered?
- The seller or their agent
- Is the property on a well or community water, and on a septic system or sewer? For a well, can I see a recent flow test and water quality test; for septic, its permit and last pump-out?
Look up the lot above: its report shows the septic screening, the wells nearby and the steep ground, so you know which specialists to book.
See also septic, wells, well water quality, oil tanks, asbestos, radon and property lines.