TARION: Be Fully Informed About Your New Home Warranty
By Lucas on Oct 16, 2013
By Tarion
One of the many advantages of buying a new home -- aside from the benefits of being able to pick and choose the appliances and finishes to suit your taste -- is the fact that all new homes in Ontario come with a statutory warranty.
In fact, Ontario’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 protected by the trust provisions of the Condominium Act).
The warranty is broken out over one, two and seven year coverage periods at which times purchasers can apply to Tarion and their builder to remedy any problems that may have arisen since they have taken 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. Finally, the seven-year warranty protects 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. Your builder is required by law to provide you with 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. If your builder does not readily provide you with requested warranty rights information, you are advised to think twice about purchasing that home.
More information is available online at www.tarion.com or Facebook.
