Photo by Oyvind Solstad
As I mentioned in my previous post on Tarion and New Home Warranty, every new home buyer has the right for a warranty on her or his new property. As I explained there, Tarion is a back-up mechanism that steps in when the home owner is unable to exercise her or his warranty rights at the builder.
The New Home warranty provided by Tarion consists of three distinct statutory warranties that apply to the completed property.
Plumbing by spierzchala
The One-Year Warranty is provided by the builder and guarantees that your home will be constructed in a workmanlike manner and free from defects in material, fit for habitation, constructed in accordance with the Ontario Building Code, and free of major structural defects. This is the basic statutory protection, ensuring that you live in an inhabitable house and it ends on your house’s first anniversary, whereby all major liveability flaws should have been discovered. For these reasons, you should make sure that you or your tenant actually lives in the new house so that you don’t miss out on an opportunity to exercise the warranty.
The Two-Year Warranty is also provided by the builder and covers, among other things: water penetration through the basement or foundation walls; material defects in windows, doors, caulking, et cetera; defects found in the electrical systems, plumbing, and heating appliances; defects affecting the exterior and façade; violations of the Ontario Building Code affecting health and safety; and other structural defects. Past the first year, you cannot complain about minor flaws which were covered by the One-Year Warranty.
The Seven-Year Warranty covers major structural and material defects that affect the stability, integrity, or safety of your house and that have arisen despite normal house usage. This warranty applies if your walls or other structural elements deteriorate and are unable to support their normal load or perform their normal function. This is also a statutory warranty, and it applies to soil movement and the chemical failure of materials. If your home withstood this period in good standing (as it should have), your warranty expires. You will then continue living in your house or condo, paying up the rest of your mortgage.
Benefits for Homeowners and Home Buyers
Thumbs up by reid
Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act requires every home and condo builder to provide warranty protection on the new property to their customers. Tarion is the back-up force that resolves disputes and pays out for accepted warranty claims.
Tarion has several offices across the province. (Click here for the list of Tarion offices.) One of its branches is located in a shopping mall so that homeowners and builders can visit at their own leisure and ask questions about the warranty protection.
Read our next post that lists our link: Advice on Protecting Your New Home Warranty, and explains a little bit of the history behind Tarion.
For the full details about New Home Warranty visit the Tarion website and seek guidance in the section on Homeowner Information Package.
