Frequently Asked Questions

Ontario.ca puts home inspection fees at $350 to $600, and says they may be higher depending on the size and condition of the home. Published Ottawa-area inspector pages for 2025–26 agree: about $350 to $470 plus HST for a condo apartment, and about $450 to $640 for a detached or semi-detached house up to about 2,000 sq ft. The fee is one of the closing costs; the federal consumer agency suggests budgeting 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price for all of those costs together.

No. The federal Office of Consumer Affairs says a home inspector should not give you estimates of repair or renovation costs, either during the inspection or in the report. The report tells you what the inspector saw; prices come from written quotes by the contractors who would do the work.

The federal Office of Consumer Affairs suggests a written contract that lists the items to be inspected, the report deadline and the total cost before the work starts. Ontario's Consumer Protection Act, 2002 also deems services to be of a reasonably acceptable quality, and says a contract term that tries to take that away is void.

Ontario passed a Home Inspection Act in 2017, but it has not been brought into force, so there is no provincial licence today. The Act received Royal Assent on April 13, 2017, and e-Laws still shows it as not yet in force (checked September 2026). Ontario.ca says that at this time Ontario does not have mandatory requirements for home inspectors. If the Act is ever proclaimed, it would require inspectors to be licensed, but nothing in it applies today.

RHI is a designation that the Ontario Association of Home Inspectors, a not-for-profit association, grants to its qualified members. It is a voluntary membership title, not a licence: Ontario has no mandatory requirements for home inspectors today. Ask what training and experience sits behind any title, and for a sample report.

No. Ontario.ca says inspectors are currently not required by law to have insurance coverage, although many do have policies that can include general liability or errors and omissions coverage. Its advice is to ask if they choose to have insurance, and what it covers.

No. Ontario.ca: "A home inspection is not a pass or fail test. It doesn't assess if a home meets zoning or building codes." It is a visual inspection of the major elements and systems. Building Code checks on permit work are done by the City's building inspectors, which is a different job from a home inspector's.

Not always. Ontario.ca says an inspector cannot see or find everything, and gives the example that an inspector may not find mould. The report describes the areas the inspector could see or reach. Health Canada adds that air tests for mould cannot be used to assess the health risk to the people living in a home.

Only if they can. Ontario.ca lists the roof among the things an inspector typically examines "if they are able and it is safe to do so", and notes that an inspector may not be able to inspect a roof covered with snow. Ask before you book how the inspector looks at a roof they cannot walk on.

RECO calls a home inspection one of the most common conditions in an offer, and on competing offers it says: "Foregoing a home inspection is a significant risk that a buyer needs to carefully consider." How your offer is worded is a question for your agent or lawyer.

Yes, if you are the buyer: ontario.ca says to make sure you are there for the inspection. It is the time to ask the inspector what they are seeing, and to note anything the seller or agent did not make accessible.

Ontario.ca lists four: ask the seller to make certain repairs, accept a defect and deal with its consequences, ask for a price adjustment, or not buy the home. Which of those your offer allows is a question for your agent or lawyer.

Tarion says you can have someone accompany you to the Pre-Delivery Inspection or send a designate, and that "there is no restriction as to whom you may choose to be your designate". A designate who signs the PDI Form for you needs your written authority to the builder. The PDI itself is run by your builder.

The Initial Form is submitted automatically on day 41 after possession, the Mid-Year Form on day 183 and the Year-End Form on day 365, with a 10-day grace period. The Second-Year Form can be sent any time in year two, and the Major Structural Defect Form after year two, up to seven years from possession. Tell your builder before you make a claim.

No. Tarion says the PDI Form does not represent a request for warranty service, so missing an item on it does not necessarily affect your coverage. It is still useful evidence if you later have a conciliation inspection.

Not a valid one, unless your condition period runs longer than three months. Health Canada's minimum for a valid radon estimate is a 91-day test, and it says short-term measurements are not appropriate for mitigation decisions. Its guideline is an annual average of 200 Bq/m³ in the normal occupancy area, measured in the lowest lived-in level. Ottawa Public Health puts do-it-yourself long-term kits at $29 to $170.

Yes. For knob-and-tube wiring, the Electrical Safety Authority recommends an assessment by a Licensed Electrical Contractor, which it says is different from a home inspection because it only focuses on the electrical. For aluminum wiring, ESA notes that some insurers want an ESA inspection before they provide or renew coverage.

The City of Ottawa says the homeowner is responsible for the sanitary and storm sewer laterals from the property line to the home, and the City for the part from the property line to the street. Responsibility may be shared where a repair crosses the property line.