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Ontario has such a shortage of building inspectors that new houses are being turned over to owners with major flaws, Cumberland Coun. Stephen Blais says.

The shortage could leave the city responsible for damage city experts could have prevented.

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“If a foundation issue is missed and that leads to moisture problems and that then leads to rot in the framing of the house, which then leads to animal penetration — there’s a whole list of consequences that come from missing something that at the time is small and could be easy to correct, but as you build a house on top of it, it becomes a much bigger problem,” Blais said Tuesday.

Photo by PAT McGRATH / Ottawa Citizen

In a meeting of city council’s planning committee, Blais upbraided city hall’s planning department for not inspecting new houses quickly or thoroughly enough.

“In Cumberland ward, there are three or four separate communities being built by different builders in different corners of the ward. I would say this kind of problem pops up in most of those subdivisions,” Blais said. One particular resident (he wouldn’t give any details about the person) has been struggling with a building-code deficiency for two years, Blais fumed.