Caveat Emptor Under Prudentialism: The Case of the Canadian Home Inspection Industry

Residential home (that is, housing) inspection has been a growth industry in Canada and the United States since its emergence in the 1970s. Within a legal context where the purchase of used housing is governed by the doctrine of caveat emptor, and a political and economic context characterized by pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social & legal studies 2014-06, Vol.23 (2), p.195-213
Main Author: Frauley, Jon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Canada
Citizenship
Consumer protection
Consumerism
Consumers
Consumption
Governance
Housing
Inspection
Inspections
Law
Legal System
Markets
Moral hazard
Protection
Public good
Public Services
Real estate
Residential buildings
Risk
Risk assessment
Social services
U.S.A
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Summary:Residential home (that is, housing) inspection has been a growth industry in Canada and the United States since its emergence in the 1970s. Within a legal context where the purchase of used housing is governed by the doctrine of caveat emptor, and a political and economic context characterized by prudentialism, home inspection appears to offer a means by which consumers can discharge their legal and political duty to be prudent. However, in Canada, because home inspection is largely unregulated and market driven, consumers of pre-owned housing are placed at a structural disadvantage relative to home inspectors. This article argues that we should be cautious of embracing private residential home inspection as an adequate consumer protection mechanism or form of risk consulting because there are fundamental and irreconcilable differences between a public service that strives to meet the objective of the public good and home inspection as a private service offered for public consumption that strives to meet the objectives of private interests.
ISSN:0964-6639
1461-7390
DOI:10.1177/0964663913513218