Toronto, ON, March 29, 2006 – Illegal building in the residential construction industry is a serious problem in Ontario and the provincial courts are responding with heavy fines and even jail time, including a five-month sentence handed down recently to a repeat offender. Since the beginning of this year alone, there have been three significant convictions against Toronto builders, with fines levied ranging between $25,000 and $125,000.

On March 7, 2006, Dara N. Panthankee was convicted on eight counts of illegal building and furnishing false information and received a five month jail sentence. In addition, his company, Zefacy Custom Homes, received fines totaling $100,000 for failing to register as a builder and failing to enrol a new home in relation to three separate residences. Mr. Panthankee is appealing his sentence and is currently out on bail.

Under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act (“the Act”) every builder or vendor of a new home sold in the Province of Ontario must be registered with Tarion Warranty Corporation (Tarion) and must enrol each new home prior to its construction. Builders who do not register with Tarion and enrol new homes in Ontario’s mandatory warranty program typically do not inform purchasers of their right to statutory warranty coverage.
 
“Jail sentences are rare but this was the builder’s second offense since 2004. He had also tried to enrol one of the homes under the name of a properly registered builder, which is not permitted under the Act,” said David Roberts, Director of Enforcement at Tarion. “If I could send a message to builders who are thinking of breaking the law, it would be: think twice. We take a tough stance on illegal building and the courts have supported us by handing out high fines and even sending convicted builders to jail. Last year, a North Bay builder went to jail for the second time for repeat offences.”

“The Toronto area has seen a rise in illegal building activity. In 2005, over $800,000 in fines were levied by the Provincial Court and nearly 25% of those fines were against Toronto-area builders,” said Gregory Gee, President and CEO of Tarion. “Illegal building undermines the reputation of the new home building industry and is unfair to those builders who abide by the rules. New home buyers are taken advantage of by these unethical unregistered builders, who often do not inform homeowners of their warranty rights.”

Additional Toronto-area convictions in 2006 are listed below:
 
• On January 23, 2006, Jamie and Maria Tavares were fined a total of $125,000;
• On January 23, 2006, Royal Legacy Homes and company officer Enzo Sasso were fined a total of $75,000;
• On February 20, 2006, Iris Delcarmen Palavicino received a total fine of $25,000.

Tarion employs a team of former police officers who work with building and municipal officials to uncover illegal building in Ontario. In 2005, Tarion’s Enforcement Department laid 243 charges against illegal builders. A total of $816,516 in related fines were levied by the courts as a result, which represents an increase of 42% over the fines levied in 2004.
 
Details about illegal home builder convictions and license revocations are available through Tarion’s website at www.tarion.com or by calling 1-877-9TARION. In addition, consumers are encouraged to visit the “Find a Builder” section of Tarion’s website to confirm that a builder is registered and to obtain additional information about their after-sales service performance.

If you suspect that illegal building is taking place in your community, you can anonymously report this information by calling Tarion toll-free at 1-800-786-6497 or by sending an email to enforcement@tarion.com.

About Tarion

Tarion Warranty Corporation is a private corporation established in 1976 to serve as the Regulator of the home building industry in Ontario. In this role, Tarion licenses all home and condominium builders pursuant to provincial legislation. This statute requires home builders to provide purchasers with warranty coverage that is guaranteed by Tarion.  The Corporation also establishes minimum time standards for after-sales service, and adjudicates issues between homeowners and builders.  Over 1.3 million homes in Ontario have been protected under warranty by Tarion.

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For more information, please contact: Janice Wong, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications, Corporate Affairs at 416-229-3863 or janice.wong@tarion.com