Home inspections: sewer lateral repairs.

Existing law defines a home inspection as a noninvasive, physical examination, performed for a fee in connection with a transfer of real property, of the mechanical, electrical, or plumbing systems or the structural and essential components of a residential dwelling, as specified. Existing law specifies that a home inspector is an individual who provides home inspections. Under existing law, it is an unfair business practice for a home inspector, a company that employs the inspector, or a company that is controlled by a company that also has a financial interest in a company employing a home inspector, to perform specified acts, including performing or offering to perform for an additional fee, any repairs to a structure on which the inspector, or the inspector's company, has prepared a home inspection report in the past 12 months. This bill would create an exception to the above-described provisions regarding unfair business practices relating to home inspections. The bill would provide that the do not affect the ability of a plumbing contractor who holds a specified license to perform repairs pursuant to the contractor's inspection of a sewer lateral connecting a residence or business to a municipal sewer system if the consumer is provided a specified disclosure before authorizing the home inspection.