Tarion Warranty in Ontario: What New-Home Defects Are Covered, and When to File
Every new home built in Ontario carries a mandatory builder warranty administered by Tarion under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act. Coverage runs in three periods from your possession date: one year for defects in workmanship and materials, two years for water penetration and the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems, and seven years for major structural defects. The warranty is the builder’s, backstopped by Tarion, and it stays with the home if it is sold within the coverage period. You typically report defects through Tarion’s MyHome online portal within set reporting windows, and missing a window can cause that coverage to lapse. Deposit protection before closing is a separate protection from this post-possession warranty.
A New Home Is Not a Perfect Home
A brand-new home rarely arrives flawless. A door that sticks, a hairline crack, a window that lets in a draft — small deficiencies like these are a normal part of new construction, and most are fixable. What matters is knowing that your home came with protection built in.
Every newly built home in Ontario carries a mandatory warranty from the builder, administered by a provincial corporation called Tarion. That warranty can cover defects for as long as seven years after you move in. It exists precisely because buyers should not have to absorb the cost of a builder’s mistake.
The important part is that the warranty runs on deadlines. Report an issue in time and the process is designed to help you. But miss the window and you can lose coverage you were entitled to. If you are weighing a new-build purchase or already living in one, an Ontario real estate lawyer can help you understand what you are protected against.
Quick Start: Pick Your Path
Warranty questions look different depending on where you are in the process. Find your situation below.
What the Tarion Warranty Covers, Year by Year
This protection comes from the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, the provincial statute that requires a warranty on every new home. It is administered by Tarion, the corporation the province created to run the program. Your possession date, the day you take ownership and receive your keys, is the day every clock starts.
The one-year warranty is the broadest. It covers defects in work and materials, unauthorized substitutions (where the builder installed something other than what your contract specified), failures to meet the Ontario Building Code, and whether the home is fit to live in.
The two-year warranty is narrower and targets the systems that keep a home dry and functioning. It covers water penetration; defects in the electrical, plumbing, and heating delivery and distribution systems; and Building Code violations that affect health and safety.
The seven-year warranty is the longest and the most serious. It covers major structural defects, which are problems affecting load-bearing elements or that materially affect how you can use the home. It is not a catch-all for cosmetic issues that appear years later.
Coverage stays with the home. If it is sold within any of these periods, the protection passes to the next owner for the time remaining.
| Coverage period | Length from possession date | What it typically covers |
|---|---|---|
| One-year warranty | 1 year | Defects in work and materials, unauthorized substitutions, Ontario Building Code violations, and whether the home is fit to live in |
| Two-year warranty | 2 years | Water penetration; the electrical, plumbing, and heating delivery and distribution systems; and Building Code violations that affect health and safety |
| Seven-year warranty | 7 years | Major structural defects — problems affecting load-bearing elements or that materially affect how you can use the home |
Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Law Society of Ontario
Which Claim Rules Apply to Your Home
Both regimes use the same online portal, called MyHome. Both are built around fixed reporting windows. The difference is in the mechanics of the first year.
For homes with a warranty start date on or after May 1, 2024, you add items to your list in MyHome as you notice them. The portal submits that list automatically at three points: an initial submission around day 41, a mid-year submission around day 183, and a year-end submission at day 365. This change was made so that missing one early window no longer costs you months of leverage.
For homes with an earlier start date, you submit a single 30-Day Form in your first month and a Year-End Form in the last 30 days of your first year. You may submit only one of each, so each needs to be complete.
After the first year, both regimes work the same way: a Second-Year Form during year two, and a Major Structural Defect Form available through year seven. Whichever process applies to you, the year-end submission is the final chance to report one-year items.
| Start date before May 1, 2024 | Start date on or after May 1, 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| First-year forms | 30-Day Form (first 30 days) and Year-End Form (last 30 days of year one) | Items auto-submit at three points: Initial (~day 41), Mid-Year (~day 183), Year-End (day 365) |
| How items are filed | You submit each form yourself, once | You add items in MyHome as you notice them; the portal submits the list at each interval |
| After year one | Same for both: a Second-Year Form during year two, and a Major Structural Defect Form available through year seven | |
| Requesting conciliation | Requested in relation to the builder’s repair period once items are unresolved | May be requested up to 150 days after the Year-End Form submission date |
Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Law Society of Ontario
How to Report a Defect, Step by Step
- 1Record the pre-delivery inspectionStart at the pre-delivery inspection, or PDI, which is the walkthrough you do with the builder before moving in. Every incomplete, damaged, or missing item you record on the PDI form becomes evidence that the condition existed before you took possession.
- 2Register for MyHomeYour Certificate of Completion and Possession, the document your builder gives you at handover, carries an enrolment number and your possession date. That number is what lets you set up your account and file.
- 3Document as you goNote each issue with photos, dates, and a short description of where and when it occurs. Be specific. “Water staining at the north basement wall after heavy rain, seen three times” is something a builder can act on and Tarion can assess, while “water in the basement” is only a symptom.
- 4Submit within your windowA conversation with the builder is not a submission. Only an item on a warranty form counts.
- 5Allow the repair period, then conciliationOnce items are submitted, your builder has a 120-day repair period to resolve them. If warranted items are still unresolved after that, you can ask Tarion to assess them through conciliation.
Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Law Society of Ontario
When the Builder Does Not Fix It
Conciliation is not a hearing and not a negotiation. It is an assessment by a Tarion representative, who measures each item against the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act and Tarion’s published Construction Performance Guidelines, the benchmarks that define acceptable workmanship. The outcome depends almost entirely on what you can show on the day, which is why careful documentation from your PDI onward matters so much.
To book a conciliation inspection, you pay a deposit, currently $282.50, which is refunded if Tarion finds at least one inspected item to be covered. After the inspection, Tarion issues a Conciliation Assessment Report stating which items are warranted. Your builder then has a final period, typically 30 days for a freehold home, to resolve those items. If they remain outstanding, Tarion may step in directly.
When a builder disputes coverage or a claim stalls, it can help to have legal guidance on your position. Qasim Ali, Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law, and the firm’s real estate team advise owners across Toronto, Scarborough, and the GTA, and can assist where a new-build defect becomes a real estate or property dispute.
Deposit Protection and Resale: Two Points Buyers Miss
Deposit protection applies before you take possession. If a builder becomes insolvent or the transaction does not close for certain reasons, Tarion’s deposit protection may compensate you up to set limits. That is a different safeguard from the warranty that begins once you have the keys. Your Agreement of Purchase and Sale is where these pre-closing protections are set out.
Resale is the second point. Because the defect warranty attaches to the home rather than to the original buyer, someone purchasing a home that is only three or four years old may still have two-year or seven-year coverage running. If you are buying a recently built home, it is worth asking for the enrolment number and confirming what coverage time remains.
Common Mistakes That Cost Owners Their Coverage
Most lost claims are not lost on the merits. They are lost on timing and paperwork. The most common errors include:
- •Treating a conversation as a claim. Telling the builder about a problem is not the same as submitting it on a warranty form. Only what is on the form is on the record.
- •Missing the year-end window. The year-end submission is your final chance to report one-year items; once it closes, that coverage can be gone.
- •Describing items too vaguely. “The floor is uneven” gives the builder and Tarion little to act on. Note the location, the measurement, and when the issue appears.
- •Skipping documentation at the PDI. The pre-delivery inspection is your best chance to record a home’s condition before you move in. Photos and dated notes made then are hard to dispute later.
- •Assuming everything is covered for seven years. Only major structural defects carry the full seven-year term; cosmetic items belong to the first year.
- •Letting the repair period lapse without diarising the conciliation deadline. If items are unresolved, the request for conciliation has its own window.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Tarion warranty cover, and for how long?
Who fixes the defects — my builder or Tarion?
I missed the Tarion year-end form deadline. What happens now?
Is a leak in my basement covered by the Tarion warranty?
Does the Tarion warranty transfer if I buy a home that is already a few years old?
What is the difference between Tarion and the HCRA?
What can I do if my builder does not fix a warranted item?
Are the shared areas of my condo covered by my unit’s warranty?
Getting Help With a New-Home Defect
A new-home defect is rarely the emergency it can feel like in the moment. Ontario’s warranty program is built to help, but it works on deadlines, and the owners who fare best are the ones who document early and submit on time. Knowing your possession date, your reporting windows, and the difference between the one, two, and seven-year coverage puts you in control of the process.
Need help with a new-home defect?
If your builder is not resolving a warranted item, or you are unsure what your coverage includes, our real estate team can help you understand your situation and your options.
Speak With Our Team
About the author
Qasim Ali
Principal Lawyer · Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Toronto & Scarborough, Ontario · Law Society of Ontario
Qasim Ali is the Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law Professional Corporation, serving clients across Toronto, Scarborough, and the broader Greater Toronto Area. He provides full-service legal representation across immigration, real estate, family law, criminal law, civil litigation, employment law, wills and estates, and business law.
Nihang Law is particularly recognized for its depth in immigration and real estate law — a combination that serves newcomers and growing families navigating both legal systems simultaneously.
Learn more about Qasim Ali →Sources & References
- Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. O.31 — Government of Ontario e-Laws — ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o31
- Tarion — What is the new home warranty (coverage overview) — tarion.com/homeowners/the-new-home-warranty
- Tarion — How to make a warranty claim and what to expect — tarion.com/media/how-make-warranty-claim-and-what-expect
- Tarion — Updates to the Customer Service Standard (May 1, 2024) — tarion.com/CSS-Updates
- Tarion — Conciliation process, assessment & resolution — tarion.com/homeowners/conciliation
- Tarion — MyHome FAQ (conciliation inspection deposit) — myhome.tarion.com/hop/faq
- Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) — hcraontario.ca/