Changes to Tarion, the New HCRA, and an Extra Ninety Dollars

  • March 16, 2021
  • Matthew Wilson and Don Perry

This is a heads-up for real estate practitioners and construction lawyers alike, about a change intended to improve consumer protection, but one that will impact your clients and their wallets as well.  If you haven’t already heard, Tarion isn’t what it used to be, and there’s a new sheriff in town.

Tarion, once known as the Ontario New Home Warranty Plan, was created by the Government of Ontario in 1976 to administer the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act (ONHWP). Its primary purpose is to protect consumers of new homes by ensuring that builders abide the provincial legislation. Tarion provided and administered new home warranties, regulated builders and vendors, and provided the dispute resolution platform. 

Over time it was recognized that putting all of those roles in one agency led to some problems.  Among other things consumers believed that Tarion’s dispute resolutions favoured builders and vendors at the expense of new home buyers.  As we know, politics is perception, so it was time to change ONHWP.