The Toronto Sun recently published an article that profiled Tarion’s Enforcement Department, a group of former police officers who protect new home buyers and the Ontario building industry from problems that can result from illegal building activity.
 
Tarion administers the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act ("the Act"), a provincial statute that requires new home builders to provide consumers with warranty coverage. The Act also stipulates that builders must register with Tarion and enrol every housing unit prior to construction. When builders fail to follow these rules, this qualifies as illegal building activity.

Dave Roberts, who heads up Tarion’s Enforcement Department, outlines the pitfalls of illegal building: “If a builder does not register with us and enrol homes they are building, then there is a good chance that the homeowner will not find out about the warranty coverage they are entitled to by law.”  This could create problems for the homeowner if there are major construction-related problems with the home.

However, as the article points out, if a builder is registered, this means the builder has met a number of business standards required by Tarion. This helps to support a strong builder community and limits the possibility of builder bankruptcies, which have the potential to undermine the reputation and future growth of Ontario builders.

For these reasons, when illegal building is uncovered, the courts can levy very heavy fines, and in the case of repeat offenders, jail time. In 2004, a total of $575,000 in fines was levied by the courts and two repeat offenders received jail sentences.

The article makes it clear that whether you’re a new homeowner or a new home builder, by uncovering companies that break the law, Tarion’s Enforcement Department is helping to keep the entire new home building industry on a solid foundation.