Toronto, ON, September 21, 2004 -- Tarion Warranty Corporation (“Tarion”) today announced that warranty coverage for new homes and condominiums built for sale in Ontario has been increased by 50% to a maximum of $150,000.
 
There will be no increase in the cost of enrolling a new home or condominium in Ontario’s mandatory new home warranty program as a result of this additional coverage.  The increased coverage limit is available to new home and condominium buyers who enter into an Agreement of Purchase and Sale on or after September 1, 2004.  Prior to the increase, new home purchasers were covered up to a maximum of $100,000.  The maximum warranty coverage for condominium common elements remains unchanged at $50,000 per unit, up to a value of $2.5 million.

“Increasing the statutory warranty coverage limit by fifty percent represents a significant benefit to Ontario’s new home and condominium buyers,” said Greg Gee, President and CEO of Tarion.  “Every purchaser of a new home can have peace of mind that in the unlikely event that they have a warranty issue with their new home, coverage will be available even for the cost of a major repair.” Gee said.

Jim Watson, the Minister of Consumer and Business Services called the increase great news for consumers. “New home and condominium buyers in Ontario are already protected by one of the most comprehensive warranty programs in North America. This increase provides additional protection if homeowners experience defects on items covered by their builder’s statutory warranty,” said Watson.

The increase in warranty coverage is another example of the ongoing improvements at Tarion which are focused on transforming the organization into a modern, customer-focused Corporation. Some of the Corporation’s other improvements include:

•  Tarion will open a new Customer Centre in October, which will deliver information and services to new home buyers and builders in a user-friendly retail setting using the latest technology;
•  New customer service policies were launched last year that ensure every new home buyer in Ontario is provided with information about their statutory warranty coverage, and a clear outline of the process to be followed for making warranty service requests; and
•  An enhanced website (www.tarion.com) offers faster and easier access to a wide range of tools and information for new home buyers and builders.

Tarion’s operational improvements will continue into the future providing both consumers and builders with efficient, high-quality services that meet or exceed the standards of today’s marketplace.

About Tarion
Tarion Warranty Corporation is a private corporation established in 1976 to administer the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act which outlines the warranty protection that all builders must provide to new home and condominium buyers in Ontario. Tarion licenses home builders and ensures that they abide by this legislation, and that consumers are protected when builders fail to fulfill their warranty obligations. Since inception, over 1.2 million homes have been enrolled by the Corporation.

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For more information, please contact:
Brigette Kocijancic
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
Tarion Warranty Corporation
Tel: 416-229-3876

Email: brigette.kocijancic@tarion.com