Toronto, ON, November 3, 2006 – Cannon Homes Ltd. and its owner Sherri Cannon were found guilty on October 12, 2006 of failing to enrol a new home in Ontario’s mandatory warranty program, and fined a total of $11,250.

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 and must enrol each new home in Ontario’s new home warranty program, prior to its construction. 

“Ms. Cannon failed to enrol three homes that she was building in the St. Thomas area,” said David Roberts, Director of Enforcement at Tarion. “Because she did not comply with the regulations under the Act, she is guilty of illegal building and she has been fined.  If a builder does not enrol a new home with Tarion, it is likely that they also have not informed the buyer of their right to a new home warranty which includes coverage for issues ranging from delayed closing to major structural defects up to $300,000.”

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. 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 and as a result, a total of $816,516 in related fines were levied by the courts.

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. 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 the builder’s after-sales service performance.

 About Tarion

Tarion Warranty Corporation is a private corporation established in 1976 to serve as the Regulator of the new home building industry in Ontario. In this role, Tarion licenses all new home and condominium builders pursuant to provincial legislation. This statute requires new 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 1.45 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