Update to Tarion: Important Changes to the Customer Service Standards for New Homes

By Slonee Malhotra and Ashley Hizo

Tarion is making significant enhancements to its new home warranty program with a new customer service standard (CSS). The CSS sets out the claims process that a homeowner must take to submit a warranty claim and seek assistance from Tarion. The following parts make up the CSS:

1. The warranty information sheet provided by Tarion;
2. The pre-delivery inspection;
3. The statutory warranty claims process, and;
4. A warranty review or conciliation.

Together, these steps set out the minimum timelines for submitting a claim within a repair period for builders to complete a warranty repair and the actions Tarion may take. Conciliation is the process where Tarion assesses the items on a homeowner’s warranty form and decides whether they are covered or not under the warranty set out in the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act.

Effective July 1, 2023 Tarion has made regulatory changes to improve the CSS by creating a new requirement that Tarion must schedule a conciliation inspection within 15 days of the request being made. In addition, Tarion must also make changes to the current timeline requirements for conducting the conciliation inspection and issuing the conciliation assessment report.

Further, Tarion has also announced the following changes that will take effect for people who have a date of possession on or after May 1, 2024:

1. The 30-day timeline for a conciliation request has been removed from the CSS, with the initial submission period now extended to 40 days. This extension serves to formally incorporate the first grace period into the initial submission window;
2. The creation of a mid-year submission at six months;
3. The availability of a year-end grace period, if written evidence can be provided that the issue was previously communicated to the builder;
4. Homeowners are now allowed to add items to a running list of potential defects at any time during the first-year warranty period. Homeowners can identify and add these defects by leveraging Tarion’s digital “MyHome” portal. This will help homeowners make and keep track of warranty service claims;
5. The time in which a homeowner may ask for a conciliation inspection during the first-year warranty period will be expanded, thereby removing the 30-day timeline. Homeowners will now be allowed to request a conciliation for each submission from the time it is submitted up until the next submission date.

Tarion has reduced a number of obstacles for homeowners by eliminating restrictive timelines for homeowners to navigate their warranty issues. The aggregate intended effect of these changes is for homeowner warranty claims to be dealt with more expeditiously.

Additional information and stakeholder education will be provided on Tarion’s webpage during the implementation of these changes before the May 1, 2024 effective date.

Developers and builders should direct any questions concerning changes to the CSS to the Condo Development Team.

For questions related to this article or legal assistance regarding a residential real estate matter, reach out to one of our experienced real estate lawyers.