(a) There shall be no monetary liability on the part of, and
no cause of action for damages shall arise against, any person or
other legal entity that is under contract with an applicant for a
residential building permit to provide independent quality review of
the plans and specifications provided with the application in order
to determine compliance with all applicable requirements imposed
pursuant to the State Housing Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section
17910) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), or any rules or
regulations adopted pursuant to that law, or under contract with
that applicant to provide independent quality review of the work of
improvement to determine compliance with these plans and
specifications, if the person or other legal entity meets the
requirements of this section and one of the following applies:
   (1) The person, or a person employed by any other legal entity,
performing the work as described in this subdivision, has completed
not less than five years of verifiable experience in the appropriate
field and has obtained certification as a building inspector,
combination inspector, or combination dwelling inspector from the
International Conference of Building Officials (ICBO) and has
successfully passed the technical written examination promulgated by
ICBO for those certification categories.
   (2) The person, or a person employed by any other legal entity,
performing the work as described in this subdivision, has completed
not less than five years of verifiable experience in the appropriate
field and is a registered professional engineer, licensed general
contractor, or a licensed architect rendering independent quality
review of the work of improvement or plan examination services within
the scope of his or her registration or licensure.
   (3) The immunity provided under this section does not apply to any
action initiated by the applicant who retained the qualified person.

   (4) A "qualified person" for purposes of this section means a
person holding a valid certification as one of those inspectors.
   (b) Except for qualified persons, this section shall not relieve
from, excuse, or lessen in any manner, the responsibility or
liability of any person, company, contractor, builder, developer,
architect, engineer, designer, or other individual or entity who
develops, improves, owns, operates, or manages any residential
building for any damages to persons or property caused by
construction or design defects.  The fact that an inspection by a
qualified person has taken place may not be introduced as evidence in
a construction defect action, including any reports or other items
generated by the qualified person.  This subdivision shall not apply
in any action initiated by the applicant who retained the qualified
person.
   (c) Nothing in this section, as it relates to construction
inspectors or plans examiners, shall be construed to alter the
requirements for licensure, or the jurisdiction, authority, or scope
of practice, of architects pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 5500) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code,
professional engineers pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section
6700) of Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code, or general
contractors pursuant to Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 7000) of
Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code.
   (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter the
immunity of employees of the Department of Housing and Community
Development under the Tort Claims Act (Division 3.6 (commencing with
Section 810) of Title 1 of the Government Code) when acting pursuant
to Section 17965 of the Health and Safety Code.
   (e) The qualifying person shall engage in no other construction,
design, planning, supervision, or activities of any kind on the work
of improvement, nor provide quality review services for any other
party on the work of improvement.
   (f) The qualifying person, or other legal entity, shall maintain
professional errors and omissions insurance coverage in an amount not
less than two million dollars ($2,000,000).
   (g) The immunity provided by subdivision (a) does not inure to the
benefit of the qualified person for damages caused to the applicant
solely by the negligence or willful misconduct of the qualified
person resulting from the provision of services under the contract
with the applicant.

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Last modified: July 31, 2008