What All New Home Buyers Need To Know

NC – One of the many advantages of buying a new house or condo – aside from the benefits of being able to pick and choose the features and finishes to suit your taste – is that almost all new homes in Ontario come with a warranty.

In fact, the province’s new home warranty program offers coverage up to a maximum of $300,000 on each property. This warranty is administered by Tarion Warranty Corporation and covers your new home for up to seven years. In the event a sale can’t be completed, there is also deposit protection up to a maximum of $40,000 for new houses and $20,000 for new condos. (Excess deposit amounts are also protected by the trust provisions of the Condominium Act.)

The warranty is broken out over one-, two-, and seven-year coverage periods during which time purchasers can apply to Tarion and their builder to remedy any problems that may have arisen since taking possession of their new home.

The one-year warranty protects against defects in workmanship and materials and any violations to the Ontario Building Code. The two-year warranty protects against defects in the electrical, plumbing and heating systems, any water penetration issues, and defects in the exterior cladding. During the seven-year warranty period you are protected against major structural defects that could affect the safety of the dwelling, such as the failure of a load bearing wall.

A complete overview of the home warranty program is found in a document called the Homeowner Information Package. You can access this document anytime at tarion.com. Your builder is also required by law to provide you with access to a copy of it before, or at, the closing of your new home.

The law dictates that all new homes in Ontario come with this mandatory warranty coverage. It is also required by law that all new home builders in the province be registered with the Tarion Warranty Corporation. Every registered new home builder in the province is listed on the Ontario Builder Directory pages at tarion.com. If your builder does not readily provide you with requested warranty rights information, and you do not find their name on the directory, you are advised to think twice about purchasing that home.

More information is available online at tarion.com.