Ontario’s home builders employ hundreds of thousands of people, pay significant taxes to pay for our public services, and are instrumental in providing people with the kind of housing they want, where they want it. Home builders must meet environmental regulations and standards, build on time and at cost, and must be able to meet the incredible demand the southern Ontario real estate market places on them.

Home builders need to be properly regulated, monitored, and must fall under government oversight to make sure they’re providing a vital service that meets high standards. Traditionally, Tarion Warranty Corporation, established in the mid 1970s by the province of Ontario, undertook this oversight role. Tarion regulates builders, keeps an eye on them, and makes sure they provide high quality service for homebuyers. But, all of that is now changing.

This week, the Government of Ontario announced that it would be setting up a new, not for profit agency tasked with providing greater regulatory oversight and consumer protection for home buyers. The agency will be run by the government and will strip Tarion of essentially all its regulatory heft. Warranty terms will no longer be Tarion’s responsibility. The new regulator will be established on January 1, 2018.

The government announced the change after a 2015 investigation and review of the regulatory system for home builders by John Cunningham, a former judge on Ontario’s Superior Court. Another important change is that Tarion will be introducing new deposit protection measures for buyers that better reflect the higher prices and deposits for our soaring real estate market. These will be enforced by Tarion up to the point the new regulator is established and up and running.

The new measures will provide buyers with a maximum deposit protection amount of up to $20,000 for condos and $40,000 for houses. Even if the deposit amount was double of those figures, the protections remain.

Have you sold your home, and now can use an advance on your equity before closing day, perhaps you need money for renovations?  Tembo Financial can help!  Tembo offers this unique service to homeowners in Ontario and the GTA. You could receive your money in as little as 48 hours with no credit check and no appraisal* for expenses that matter to you.  Don’t wait, start today!

*Subject to qualification.