Tarion Warranty: Statement of Critical Dates

Tarion Warranty: Statement of Critical Dates

As a certified new home specialist I like to educate my clients on every step of the new build process. When you write an offer on a pre-construction home or condominium you are given the Tarion statement of critical dates. If you are considering purchasing a new build home, this will help put your mind at ease. If you have purchased a new build home, I’d like to remind you to write these important dates into your calendar. I will cover some helpful resources, what some of these Critical dates mean, and why they are important to note.

What is a Tarion Warranty?

To start off, if you aren’t sure what the Tarion Warranty is, check out my blog specifically made for New Build Home Buyers in Ontario. To quickly summarize, When buying a new build home the vendor (often the builder) of the home should be registered with Tarion if they are a licensed builder, this is by law. Tarion therefore acts as a backstop if the vendor fails to honour the warranties.

Tarion Warranty Resources

The Tarion website offers many great resources for those who are contemplating a new construction home purchase: With a great homeowner resource hub so you can learn all about what to know before buying a pre-construction condominium. Many helpful resources for those who are already new-build buyers are available as well through their Homeowner Resource Hub, an Outline of your Warranty, with additional helpful blogs. TIP: it’s great to note on your calendar important dates for your Tarion Warranty so you can ensure your new construction home is kept in pristine condition. Also see the new Critical Dates Calculator.

Tarion Warranty Statement of Critical Dates

When you purchase your new development home, your contract would look something like this (see image below). You will see wording such as “Tentative Occupancy Date”, “Final Tentative Occupancy Date”, and “Firm Occupancy Date”. If you are interested, take a look at Tarion’s Glossary of Terms for Homeowners. But let’s dive deeper into some of these critical dates and what they mean for you dear reader.

Tarion Warranty Statement of Critical Dates Contract Sample

Tentative Occupancy Date

You will be given a couple different tentative dates. The First tentative occupancy date is “the date that the Vendor anticipates the condominium home will be completed and ready to move in”. This date may be delayed, as we are seeing lots of unavoidable new build delays these days. This just happened for one of my clients new construction homes for sale on assignment, we are now seeing a December 2022 date. I will cover the reasons behind these unavoidable delays in this blog post! You will be informed by the the builder once the roof is up of a Final Tentative Occupancy Date. If they cannot provide this date they will set what is known as a Firm Occupancy date, and if you are not in your new construction home by that Firm Occupancy date you are entitled to delayed occupancy compensation. Compensation can be $150 per day up to $7,500. Be sure to check your contract and note these dates so you can receive compensation if compensation is due. Have more delayed closing questions? Check out Tarions Module for Occupancy Delayed Closing here.

Purchaser’s Termination Period

There are many critical dates provided with your Tarion Warranty, another is the Purchaser’s Termination Period. If your home is not complete by the “Outside Occupancy Date” and your builder has not contacted you to come to a new agreement, then you are able to terminate the transaction during a period of 30 days after your contract’s noted date. Critical dates changed due to unavoidable delays will affect your original Purchaser’s Termination Period, so always check your contract. If you have any questions, Tarion has many Questions and Answers that will help put your mind at ease.

*UPDATE as of March 20 2024 Home Buyers can now Register their Purchase Agreement with Tarion.

So dear reader, or new build home purchaser, I hope this was helpful to better understand the Tarion Warranty Statement of Critical dates, what the terminologies mean and why it is important to add these dates into your calendar. If you have any questions about Tarion, or purchasing a new build home I am always here to help guide and educate you through the process. If you want to explore my featured listings, I have 1 new development home for sale. QUICK LINK: The Baysides: 11 Bay St. E. Unit 10 if you want to learn more about these developments I have a blog covering them as well. If you are interested in other new build opportunities, there are plenty in the works and I love discussing them so contact me today!