Can a HVAC inspection report be written by a secretary (unlicensed)?

[Elias L]

I am a tenant renting a house. I had my HVAC systems inspected, and the report I got was signed by the secretary/receptionist for the inspection company. There's no mention of who actually performed the inspection. Is this a problem--is this report considered legitimate if I submit it to a court (suing LL for faulty HVAC)?

[Steven Turetsky]

I know of a number of firms that have their reports written up by a secretary, although the content is as directed by the inspector. I don't know of any that the endorser is not the licensee. Because you are headed to court, I would insist the license holder endorses it. I am not an attorney, but I believe the report (endorsed by the secretary) can be disputed by its face value. Jerry Peck may have some input regarding this.

[Jerry Peck]

In licensed states, I suspect that most will address that the person (inspector) 'doing the inspection' is to be licensed, but that the person 'typing the report' (versus 'writing' the report) does not have to be licensed.

The licensed inspection will make notes (in some fashion), possibly photos and/or voice recorder, possibly actually written notes, and that would be the 'report', however one wants to look as how to define 'written report' - the secretary is simply typing up the information given to him/her for putting into the report format (presuming some type of computer generated report or even just typed on the keyboard).

I would be surprised if a state's licensing laws specifically forbade any assistant from helping the inspector with report production (such as described above for entering information into a computerized report program or from typing the report from notes).

Now, if the inspector told that person to 'write it up as you see it' and that person actually 'wrote' the report, that inspector would be taking on A LOT of unnecessary liability from a lawsuit aspect, and probably from their licensing board should a complaint arise (such as what would be the basis for the lawsuit).

[Randy West]

We are regulated in Arizona. However, a one-item inspection does not fall under the description of a 'home inspection', so all the state rules/regs would not apply. So a report on a single item (hvac) does not have to include the inspector's name and license number. Seems like it would still be a good idea to include it. If you are not suing the inspector, I would think he would provide a revised report with his/her name on it to give the report a little more 'expert' status for the courts.

[Steven Turetsky]

We are regulated in Arizona. However, a one-item inspection does not fall under the description of a 'home inspection', so all the state rules/regs would not apply. So a report on a single item (hvac) does not have to include the inspector's name and license number. Seems like it would still be a good idea to include it. If you are not suing the inspector, I would think he would provide a revised report with his/her name on it to give the report a little more 'expert' status for the courts.


There may or may not be a license for a particular specialty, but there are usually certifications and there may be a related license.

[Bob Harper]

This document would not only be useless but possibly harmful in court. The secretary was not the inspector and the inspector did not sign it so neither can testify as to the veracity of the report. Anyone can write up the report but the veracity of the report falls on the inspector and their signature and date on it.

Who's to say the secretary botched the inspectors words or meaning? Who's to say that 'inspector' whose name might be listed on the report, is the person who actually performed the inspection. I would insist the person who conducted the actual inspection sign and date the report. This is absurd.

Regarding your claim against the landlord, I'd advise you to do some homework on the laws of your State. Most LLs have a wide berth legally regarding what they are required to provide with regards to HVAC. It will also be a matter of what was advertised in the listing versus what was actually supplied. Just because a listing claims to have "air conditioning" for example does not mean it must be capable of frosting a beer.

[Phil Houck]

Why is almost every "tenant" inspection "headed for court?" They spend the whole inspection talking about how they are going to sue the landlord, neighbor, etc...I avoid them like the plague.

[Raymond Wand]

Not surprising considering how many inspection companies with websites don't list anywhere who the owner/inspector is.