Toronto, ON, February 28, 2006 –Toronto-area builders, Jamie and Maria Tavares, were each recently charged with two counts of failing to register with Tarion Warranty Corporation (“Tarion”) and two counts of failing to enrol a unit with Tarion. On January 23, 2006 the Provincial Court fined the Tavareses a total of $125,000 for illegal building activity.

Under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act (“the Act”) every vendor and builder of a new home sold in the Province of Ontario must be registered with Tarion and 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.

“When the homeowners in this case contacted Tarion to inquire about the status of their home, it was discovered that the builder had not registered with Tarion and was in fact illegally building,” stated David Roberts, Director of Enforcement at Tarion. “This demonstrates the value of Tarion’s public awareness activities, which include advertising and new home buyer seminars, in helping consumers to understand their rights as new homeowners.” 

In 2005, total fines levied against illegal builders in Ontario increased by 42 percent and the amount of fees collected from the related enrolments that were uncovered totaled $4 million.

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