Tarion Warranty Corporation Administers the New Home Warranties Plan Act
The Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act outlines the warranty coverage that builders are required to provide to their customers. The aggregate maximum warranty coverage for new homes and condominium units is $300,000*. The maximum coverage for condominium common elements is $50,000 times the number of units, to a maximum of $2.5 million.
Coverage under the Act includes deposit protection, protection against defects in work and materials, protection against unauthorized substitutions, and protection against delayed closings or delayed occupancies without proper notice. For condominiums, warranty coverage also includes common/shared areas of the building.
Most issues related to the Statutory Warranty are resolved between builders and owners without the intervention of Tarion. When necessary, Tarion will help homeowners and builders interpret the limits of the Act, and will intercede to protect consumers when builders fail to honour warranty obligations.
* Tarion increased the aggregate maximum warranty coverage provided under the One Year, Two Year and Major Structural Defect warranties to $300,000 for homes with a date of possession on or after July 1, 2006. This increased coverage amount applies regardless of when the purchase agreements or construction contracts in issue were entered into. If the date of possession of a home is prior to July 1, 2006, the warranty coverage under the One Year, Two Year and Major Structural Defect warranties will continue to be as follows: a) $100,000 if the purchase agreement or construction contract for the home was entered into before September 1, 2004; and b) $150,000 if the purchase agreement or construction contract for the home was entered into on or after September 1, 2004.