Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4114 – Grounds for discipline
(a) A practitioner licensed under this chapter shall be subject to disciplinary actions set forth in § 4116 of this title, if, after a hearing, the Board finds that the home inspector:
(1) Has employed or knowingly cooperated in fraud or material deception in order to acquire a license as a home inspector; has impersonated another person holding a license, or allowed another person to use that home inspector’s license, or aided or abetted a person not licensed as a home inspector to represent himself or herself as a home inspector.
(2) Has illegally, incompetently or negligently practiced home inspection.
(3) Has been convicted of a crime that is substantially related to the practice of home inspection. A copy of the record of conviction certified by the clerk of the court entering the conviction shall be conclusive evidence therefor.
(4) Has excessively used or abused drugs either in the past 2 years or currently; excessive use or abuse of drugs shall mean any use of narcotics, controlled substances, or illegal drugs without a prescription from a licensed practitioner, or the abuse of alcoholic beverage such that it impairs the practitioner’s ability to perform the work of a home inspector.
(5) Has violated a lawful provision of this chapter, or any lawful regulation established thereunder.
(6) Has had that home inspector’s own license as a home inspector suspended or revoked, or other disciplinary action taken by the appropriate licensing authority in another jurisdiction; provided, however, that the underlying grounds for such action in another jurisdiction have been presented to the Board by certified record; and the Board has determined that the facts found by the appropriate authority in the other jurisdiction constitute 1 or more of the acts defined in this chapter. Every person licensed as a home inspector in this State shall be deemed to have given consent to the release of this information by the Board or other comparable agencies in another jurisdiction, and have waived all objections to the admissibility of previously adjudicated evidence of such acts or offenses.
(7) Has failed to notify the Board that the home inspector’s license as home inspector in another state has been subject to discipline, or has been surrendered, suspended, or revoked. A certified copy of the record of disciplinary action, surrender, suspension or revocation shall be conclusive evidence thereof.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4114
- Board: shall mean the State Board of Home Inspectors established in this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4102
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Division: shall mean the State Division of Professional Regulation. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4102
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Excessive use or abuse of drugs: shall mean any use of narcotics, controlled substances, or illegal drugs without a prescription from a licensed practitioner, or the abuse of alcoholic beverage such that it impairs the ability to perform the work of a home inspector. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4102
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Home: shall mean any residential property, or manufactured or modular home, which is a single-family dwelling, duplex, triplex, quadruplex, condominium unit, or cooperative unit. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4102
- Home inspection: shall mean a visual analysis for the purposes of providing a written professional opinion of the condition of a building and its carports and garages, any reasonably accessible installed components and the operation of the building systems, including the controls normally operated by the owner, for the following components of a residential building of 4 units or fewer: heating system; electrical system; cooling system; plumbing system; structural components; foundation; roof covering; exterior and interior components; and site aspects as they affect the building. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4102
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: shall mean an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, association, joint stock company, limited partnership, limited liability company, and any other legal entity and includes a legal successor of those entities. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4102
- State: shall mean the State of Delaware. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4102
- Substantially related: shall mean the nature of the criminal conduct for which the person was convicted, has a direct bearing on the fitness or ability to perform 1 or more of the duties or responsibilities necessarily related to the practice of home inspecting. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 4102
(b) Subject to the provisions of subchapter IV of Chapter 101 of Title 29, no license shall be restricted, suspended, or revoked by the Board, and no practitioner’s right to practice home inspection shall be limited by the Board until such practitioner has been given notice, and an opportunity to be heard, in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, Chapter 101 of Title 29. Notice shall be accomplished by mail to the last address of record provided by the licensee. It is the licensee’s responsibility to notify the Division of a change of address within 15 days.