There seems to be a lot of questions and/or misunderstandings about Tarion. Some of the question we most often hear are:
- Is my new custom home required to be covered with a Tarion warranty?
- How much does a Tarion warranty cost?
- Who/what is Tarion?
- Is my renovation project covered with a Tarion warranty?
Understanding Tarion
Maybe the first thing to understand is that it is your builder’s obligation and responsibility to provided statutory warranties for your new home … not Tarion’s. This is required by law in Ontario and is outlined in the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act. The New Home Warranties Plan Act also states that builders of new homes must be registered with Tarion and enroll each new home with Tarion.
Many people are of the misunderstanding that the Tarion Warranty Corporation is providing the warranty for your new home. Tarion is in place to ensure that your builder is in fact providing the statutory warranties for your home according to the New Home Warranties Plan Act. They also offer a means of recourse or remediation should your builder fail to fulfill their obligations. So back to the questions …
- Yes. There are a few exceptions to this rule, however, generally speaking if you are hiring a contractor to build a new home, it must be enrolled with Tarion and your builder must be registered with Tarion.
- It is your builder’s responsibility to pay a “security deposit” to Tarion. This deposit is intended to ensure that your builder in fact warranties your new home and if not, there are funds available to have the work completed. There is an enrollment fee which varies depending on the sale price of your home. As an example, the enrollment fee for a custom home between $450,000 and $500,000 is currently $1039.60.
- Tarion Warranty Corporation is a private corporation that regulates builders in Ontario and protects new homeowners. They protect homeowners by ensuring builders abide by the New Home Warranties Plan Act, resolving disputes regarding warranty coverage and ensuring that statutory warranties are fulfilled should a builder fail to fulfill their obligations.
- If you are renovating your existing home and making an addition, your home is not eligible for statutory warranty coverage. Keep in mind that although your home is not eligible for statutory warranty coverage, it is important to ask your contractor what their warranty policies are.
Alair Homes Huntsville is proud to be a Tarion registered custom homebuilder in the Muskoka area. We would be glad to talk to you to answer any further questions you might have regarding Tarion, or to discuss your custom home dreams.