Committment to the Client: The ASHI Client Bill of Rights

From choosing a neighborhood to hiring a real estate agent to buying
the right home, it’s easy for potential homebuyers to feel overwhelmed
by all the decisions that go into the homebuying process. Who can one
trust and what can he or she expect?

Just as the Founding Fathers of our country created the Bill of
Rights to protect our citizens, the American Society of Home Inspectors
(ASHI) created the Client Bill of Rights to protect homebuyers.

Introduced in 2008, the ASHI Client Bill of Rights is a commitment that
ASHI members make to their clients that they will uphold the highest
standards and conduct a thorough, unbiased and honest evaluation of
their home.

The ASHI Client Bill of Rights was derived from the ASHI Standards of
Practice and Code of Ethics.  The full bill of rights follows:

ASHI Client Bill of Rights

• To be assured the inspector is objective in his or her reporting
  and will not knowingly understate or overstate the significance of
  reported conditions.

• To be assured the inspector’s opinion is based on genuine conviction within the scope of his or her education and experience.
• To be assured the inspector stays current with the industry body of knowledge through continuing education.
• To be assured the inspector will not disclose inspection results or client information without client approval.
• To be assured the inspector has not accepted any form of compensation for recommending contractors, services or products.
• To be assured the inspector will not offer to repair or replace
  for compensation any component covered by the ASHI Standards of Practice
  for one year after the inspection.

• To be assured future referrals to the inspector from real estate
  agents are not dependent on the inspection findings or the sale of the
  property.

• To be assured the home inspector has no financial interest in the transaction.
• To be assured the inspector is not receiving compensation for the inspection from any other party.
• To be assured the inspector did not compensate the real estate agent or other party for the referral to the client.

About the American Society of Home Inspectors
Founded in 1976 and with more than 5,000 members, ASHI is the oldest and most widely recognized non-profit, professional organization of home inspectors in North America. Its Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics is the industry standard. For more information and to find an ASHI inspector, go to www.ashi.org. To stay connected to ASHI news and updates, please visit the association’s Facebook Fan Page and Twitter.