Two inspections, two different trades
A building inspection looks at the structure: cracking, roof condition, damp, and the like. A timber pest inspection looks for termites and other timber pests, the damage they've done, and the conditions that invite them. They're different professions, even when one firm arranges both, so ask who does which half and who signs each report.
WA's Consumer Protection Commissioner has suggested getting a timber pest inspection report from a pest controller or a building inspection company before buying. We cover the timber pest half: tap Buying a home with the suburb.
How it works when you buy in WA
The White Ant Certificate clause
When you buy an existing home, Consumer Protection recommends including a White Ant Certificate clause in the Offer and Acceptance form. Building and Energy says it's meant to confirm the home has no termites and no structural damage from an earlier infestation.
Write the condition properly
Consumer Protection said a special condition should spell out what action is needed, a due date and who pays, and both buyer and seller must initial it. If the seller doesn't agree, it isn't part of the Offer and Acceptance.
No cooling-off period to fall back on
In 2015, WA's Consumer Protection Commissioner wrote that there's no mandatory cooling-off period for real estate contracts in Western Australia. So the inspection and the clause are doing the protecting, and timing matters.
The endorsement to look for
WA Health says termite and timber pest work needs the Termites and Timber pests endorsement on the technician's licence. Ask which endorsements the person coming out holds.
What a useful timber pest report tells you
- Which areas were inspected, and which couldn't be reached (a locked shed, a roof space with no access, a floor covered by furniture).
- Any live termites, termite damage or mud tunnels found, with where they are.
- Conditions that attract termites: leaks, damp subfloors, garden beds piled against walls, timber touching the soil.
- Whether there's a durable termite notice in the meter box, and what system it names.
- What the inspector recommends next, and how soon.
Before you book the inspection
- Do you hold the Termites and Timber pests endorsement?
- Can you finish the written report before the due date in my offer?
- Will you go into the roof space and subfloor where there's safe access?
- Do you also do the building inspection, or is that a separate business?
If the report finds termites
What happens next depends on how the special condition was worded. Consumer Protection's example has the seller paying for treatment and repairs before a set date if timber pest activity has caused damage, but only when the condition says so.
Read the report with your settlement agent or lawyer before the due date passes. If you go ahead with the purchase, the Perth termite page covers what a treatment involves.
Where we'd start with pre-purchase pest inspections in Perth
We'd get the clause into the offer first, then book the timber pest inspection straight away so the report lands well inside the due date. Buying a home is sent as urgent, so tap Buying a home as soon as your offer's in.
Want someone to look at it?
Tell us what you've seen and your postcode, and a local pest business that handles exactly that calls you to talk it through.
