Last year, I participated in one of the stakeholder groups that were put together for the purpose of providing Justice Cunningham with information for his review of Ontario’s New Home Warranty Program. The report was released today and can be found at the following link:

https://www.ontario.ca/document/final-report-review-ontario-new-home-warranties-plan-act-and-tarion-warranty-corporation

From the report:

“New home warranty protection should continue to be a mandatory program. Warranty coverage would move from today’s monopoly, with Tarion as the only provider, to a multi­provider insurance system. The warranty coverage should be an insurance product. Some private sector insurance companies have expressed interest in participating as warranty providers should a competitive market replace today’s monopoly structure. Delivering warranty protection as an insurance product would facilitate participation by private sector insurance companies and introduce financial sector oversight and accountability. An insurance based, multi­provider model exists in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan and several
international jurisdictions.

“A new not-for-profit corporation would assume responsibility for managing the warranty for existing homes enrolled with Tarion and could participate as a warranty provider in the new competitive model. Some builders, vendors and homeowners may welcome the option of being able to continue to deal with a not­-for­-profit alternative.

“Builder and vendor regulation should be delivered through an administrative authority operating separate from, but in cooperation with, the warranty providers. The current outdated approach to builder and vendor regulation should be updated and aligned with modern practices for sectors regulated through a registration/licensing model.

“Adjudication of unresolved warranty disputes should be delivered through a separate organization independent of warranty providers and the regulator. Warranty providers would continue to have a role to facilitate the resolution of disputes between homeowners and builders. They would also have responsibility to assess and decide on warrantability where agreement is not reached between a builder and homeowner. A homeowner who is not satisfied with a decision could appeal that decision to the independent adjudication body, through a process that is accessible and easily navigated by the
homeowner.

“Rule­making on warranty coverage should be subject to greater government oversight. The government should have final approval on changes to warranty coverage and duration, and changes to standards that apply to builder/vendor registration. The processes for updating warranty coverage and duration, and standards for builder/vendor registration should be more regular, structured and inclusive. While government should make the final decisions, it should base those decisions on the advice developed through robust review processes that fully engage the expertise and knowledge of the new home construction sector and consumers.”