FHA Termite Treatment

FHA Mortgage Requirements for Termite Treatment

• In the past, FHA required a termite inspection to be part of the appraisal process in any residential transaction that involved federal funding through FHA loan programs. That requirement was changed in September 2005, when FHA Mortgagee Letter 2005-ML-34 was issued. This document stated that termite inspections would be required only in those cases when evidence of an active infestation was found or when state laws or lender requests were a factor. Active infestations would require a termite treatment to correct the problem before the loan guarantee would be approved.

Preventative Termite Treatment Requirements

• New residential construction involving FHA loan programs requires the builder to warranty the property against active termite infestations and other wood-destroying insects and organisms. This warranty is accepted by the FHA only when the builder uses bait systems, chemical soil treatments or preservative-treated wood to guarantee that a termite infestation will not occur for one year.

Builder's Warranty Information

• The form that a builder submits as a guarantee that a new home will be free from termite infestation for one year was HUD NPCA 99A. This form was required according to the Code of Federal Regulations Title 24, Section 200.926d(b)(3). The builder obtained a termite treatment report from the pest control company that does the preventative work and filled out this form accordingly. Information on the form included the FHA case number, location of the property, the buyer's name, the termite treatment measures used and the builder's company name and phone number.

FHA Requirements for Termite Clearance Reports

• Termite inspections that include findings of an active infestation must include recommendations for corrective measures, such as a termite treatment, to adhere to FHA requirements. These corrections must be made, and a follow-up inspection must be made to ensure that the infestation was corrected. These findings, recommendations and follow-up inspections must be included as a clearance report in the FHA appraisal paperwork before loan guarantees will be processed.

Updated Information

• An administrative notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued in 2010 included information that made previous FHA termite treatment forms obsolete. According to this notice, intended for rural housing development agencies, HUD form NPCA 99A was replaced by forms provided by the National Pest Management Association, an agency of the USDA. Form NPMA 99a was to be the new builder's guarantee, and NPMA 99b covered all termite treatment in new and existing homes. These treatments include soil treatment for subterranean termites. Form NPMA 33 was to be used for all wood-destroying insect inspections.