The following excerpts are taken from Your Home Matters newsletter.

As of February 1, changes are coming to the new home building industry as well as the warranty program for new homes. These changes will impact how new home builders are licensed and regulated and what information they are required to provide to home buyers about their warranty. 

The following email provides a summary of some of the key changes that will impact new home building, purchasing and warranty coverage.

New Regulator for New Home Builders and Vendors

On February 1, the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) will be responsible for regulating and licensing the people and companies who build and sell new homes in Ontario.

What this means is that they will now protect home buyers by working to ensure that all new home builders and vendors in Ontario act with honesty and integrity, have the necessary technical skills to build homes, the financial capacity to run a home building operation, and the knowledge and capacity to offer warranty protection on new homes.

Under their mandate, the HCRA will also investigate homeowner complaints about their builders' conduct and enforce professional standards for competence and conduct in the home building industry. 

You can learn more about the HCRA by visiting their website at www.hcraontario.ca