The Texas Real Estate Inspector Committee (TREIC) met July 14 at TREC headquarters in Austin. We got an update from our subcommittees and discussed education delivery methods, advertising, and the new Inspector Legal & Ethics and SOP Review Course.

Standards of Practice Subcommittee Update

The Standards of Practice subcommittee members are nearing completion of their initial review of the SOPs. They have been working hard for some time now reviewing the SOPs section by section. The subcommittee is hopeful to have their initial recommendations submitted to the full inspector committee at the October 13 meeting.

When Would SOPs Changes Be Effective?

Although the subcommittee has recommended a number of changes, none will go into effect quickly. If proposed changes are made at the October TREIC meeting, the full committee can forward them to TREC commissioners to consider for proposal at the November meeting. The Commission can send them back to the subcommittee for further review or propose the changes as presented. Prior to adoption, the public has an opportunity to provide feedback on the proposed changes. With this timeline in mind, the earliest that new SOP changes could be adopted would be at the February 2026 Commission meeting. The effective date for any SOP changes will be determined based on when the final approval happens.

How SOP Changes Could Affect the Property Inspection Report Form

Based on preliminary discussions and reports from the subcommittee, it is likely that a revised promulgated form will be proposed to coincide with the changes to the SOPs. It has been three years since the last form revision was adopted. The committee has gone through multiple reviews of the SOPs since then and has not made changes to the form. The committee does not take revising the form lightly. The goal here is that if changes should be made to the form, they should all be done at once to avoid multiple form changes in the next couple of years. I would encourage stakeholders to get involved in the process to give your input as early as possible. The subcommittee meeting dates are listed on the TREC website and meetings can be joined remotely.

Education Subcommittee Update: Timing of Coursework and Texas Practicum, Course Delivery Methods

The Education Subcommittee discussed a proposed rule to require students to complete all required coursework prior to starting their Texas Practicum for prelicensure.

Currently, a student going through the process to become an inspector can take the Practicum prior to having any of the coursework completed. The purpose of the Practicum is to be able to apply the learned coursework while performing actual inspections and completing inspection reports. Staff will draft a proposed rule for the next subcommittee meeting to address the correct timing of the Practicum.

There was a discussion regarding the required eight-hour Inspector Legal & Ethics and SOP Review Course that inspectors must take for every renewal period. Much of the discussion centered around students taking the course via correspondence versus in-class, whether it be live and in person or live and online. The new Inspector Legal & Ethics and SOP Review Course is effective September 1 of this year. After much debate, the committee chose to allow all currently acceptable means of delivery of the course as it currently is.

Continuing the Discussion About Advertising and Affiliated Company Referrals

The committee also discussed an ongoing concern about inspection companies and how there may be some professional relationships between them and the service providers that they are referring to their clients.

Inspectors are not allowed to perform any work on a house that they have inspected for at least 12 months. The purpose of this is to ensure that the inspector does not have any possible ulterior motive when calling out deficiencies. There are some inspection companies that refer services to their inspection clients when there are direct, or indirect, financial connections between the two. This could create a potential issue for consumers that are expecting the inspection to be done by a person, or company, that has nothing to gain by any reported deficiency.

The committee and staff will be looking at possible ways to protect the consumer better in this area as it relates to inspection companies.

Multi-Inspector Firms and Advertising Requirements

Many of the rules that are in place were designed with single-inspector firms in mind. Over the last few years, there has been a substantial uptick in inspection companies that have multiple inspectors in their employ.

Inspection companies should be careful when advertising to ensure that all advertising rules are being followed. For multi-inspector firms, this may mean that multiple inspector license numbers need to be listed. One possible way to address this would be to create a business entity license for inspection companies. This was in place in 2005 but was repealed by the Texas Legislature due to a recommendation by the Sunset Advisory Commission back in 2007. For a business license to be instituted, it would require a legislative change. This is something that the committee will consider as they look to the 2027 legislative session.

Meeting Materials and Upcoming Meeting

Download materials from the meeting and watch the recording.

The next TREIC Meeting is October 13, 2025. Attend in person or register to livestream the meeting.