Tarion Warranty Corporation (“Tarion”) has issued a number of advisories regarding the suspension of certain new home warranty program processes. For the period of March 13, 2020 to April 13, 2020 the following applies:
- Tarion will not consider homeowners and condominium corporations who do not give access to their homes and common elements, respectively, as having denied access to builders.
- Builders are not expected to visit homes to perform warranty repairs. Builders are directed to follow the emergency procedures in Builder Bulletins 42 and 49.
- All builder repair timelines are suspended.
- Conciliations, inspections, common element meetings and other meetings are cancelled and will be rescheduled to the earliest available date.
- Both the builder and homeowner do not need to be present during a pre-delivery inspection ("PDI"). If parties cannot agree on the holding of the PDI, the builder may perform the PDI on its own. Homeowners are encouraged to perform their own PDI on their own.
During this period, homeowners may still notify their builder and/or Tarion of health and safety and emergency issues.
Unavoidable Delay
Under the Unavoidable Delay (as defined in the Tarion Addendum) provisions in agreements of purchase and sale, builders may be entitled to unilaterally extend critical dates. Builders must follow the rules for extending critical dates based on Unavoidable Delay or the extension will be ineffective.
Performance Audits
The completion of Performance Audits may be delayed by COVID-19. Where a Performance Audit cannot be submitted on time, a Performance Auditor or Designate of a Condominium Corporation should contact Bonnie Douglas, Manager, Common Elements, at Bonnie.Douglas@Tarion.co.
Field Review Consultants
Field Review Consultants that are unable to attend a condominium construction site to perform reporting under Builder Bulletin 19R are to contact B19@Tarion.com to notify Tarion of the delay in reporting.
Builder’s Arbitration Forum
Ongoing appeals before the Builder’s Arbitration Forum are suspended until further notice. New requests to arbitrate will be reviewed and noted by Tarion, as operations permit.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.