Section 10. Definitions

Part I. General

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless a different meaning is provided or is plainly required by the context:

"Adjacent" means structures, grading, drainage, or vegetation within three feet of the residential building that may affect the residential building.

"Board" means the Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors.

"Certificate holder" means any person holding a valid certificate as a certified home inspector issued by the board.

"Certification" means an authorization issued to an individual by the board to perform certified home inspections by meeting the entry requirements established in these regulations.

"Client" means a person who engages or seeks to engage the services of a certified home inspector for the purpose of obtaining an inspection of and a written report upon the condition of a residential building.

"Compensation" means the receipt of monetary payment or other valuable consideration for services rendered.

"Component" means a part of a system.

"Contact hour" means 50 minutes of participation in a structured training activity.

"Department" means the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

"Financial interest" means financial benefit accruing to an individual or to a member of his immediate family. Such interest shall exist by reason of (i) ownership in a business if the ownership exceeds 3.0% of the total equity of the business; (ii) annual gross income that exceeds or may be reasonably anticipated to exceed $1,000 from ownership in real or personal property or a business; (iii) salary, other compensation, fringe benefits, or benefits from the use of property, or any combination of it, paid or provided by a business that exceeds or may be reasonably expected to exceed $1,000 annually; or (iv) ownership of real or personal property if the interest exceeds $1,000 in value and excluding ownership in business, income, salary, other compensation, fringe benefits, or benefits from the use of property.

"Fireplace" means an interior fire-resistant masonry permanent or prefabricated fixture that can be used to burn fuel and is either vented or unvented.

"Foundation" means the base upon which the structure or a wall rests, usually masonry, concrete, or stone, and generally partially underground.

"Inspect" or "inspection" means to visually examine readily accessible systems and components of a building established in this chapter.

"Outbuilding" means any building on the property that is more than three feet from the residential building that might burn or collapse and affect the residential building.

"Readily accessible" means available for visual inspection without requiring moving of personal property, dismantling, destructive measures, or any action that will likely involve risk to persons or property.

"Reinstatement" means having a certificate restored to effectiveness after the expiration date has passed.

"Renewal" means continuing the effectiveness of a certificate for another period of time.

"Residential building" means, for the purposes of home inspection, a structure consisting of one to four dwelling units used or occupied, or intended to be used or occupied, for residential purposes.

"Solid fuel burning appliances" means a hearth and fire chamber or similarly prepared place in which a fire may be built and that is built in conjunction with a chimney, or a listed assembly of a fire chamber, its chimney and related factory-made parts designed for unit assembly without requiring field construction.

"System" means a combination of interacting or interdependent components, assembled to carry out one or more functions.

Terms not defined in this chapter have the same definitions as those set forth in § 54.1-500 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 19, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2003; amended, Virginia Register Volume 27, Issue 11, eff. April 1, 2011.

Statutory Authority

§§ 54.1-201 and 54.1-501 of the Code of Virginia.