Updates to Customer Service Standard (CSS)

For homes with a date of possession of May 1, 2024, or after:

1. Extending the initial homeowner submission period to now be 40 days.
2. Making the interim 10-day grace period at the end of the first-year permanent.
3. Creating a mid-year submission at six months.
4. Allowing homeowners to add items to a list of potential defects at any time during the first-year warranty period.
5. Removing the 30-day timeline for a homeowner to request a conciliation - allow them to request a conciliation for the initial and mid-year from Day 1 of the Builders Repair period up until next form’s submission date. For the year end form, a homeowner can request a conciliation up to 150 days after the end of the first year.

What isn’t changing:

1. No changes to lengths of builder repair periods
2. No changes to the second year or seven-year process.
3. No changes to common element process.
4. No changes to special/seasonal process.
5. No changes to the emergency process.

Now, the first submission made by a homeowner will officially be made on day 41, which will formally incorporate the first grace period into the initial submission window. This makes the 10-day grace period that we started as an interim measure in September 2020 permanent.

Additionally, Tarion will be introducing a mid-year form that will be auto-submitted at the six-month mark. This will allow homeowners to identify issues outside of the initial and year-end periods.

 Finally, the interim ten-day year-end grace period will be made permanent, but only if the homeowner can show written evidence that the issue was reported in writing to their builder during the first year.

 These changes address the identified challenges by removing obstacles for homeowners with genuine concerns, and reduced pressure around the first 30-days by providing the mid-year opportunity. One of the biggest issues identified by homeowners is that homeowners who miss the first submission must wait up to 10 months before being able to trigger Tarion’s formal assistance (at the year-end). The mid-year submission will fix this.

These changes also re-enforce the builder’s role in being the first point of contact to address warranty issues, while providing more opportunity to seek assistance from Tarion if needed.

Form submission will also be impacted, as homeowners will be able to describe items via Tarion’s MyHome which will be itemized into a list and will be auto-submitted by MyHome at three key intervals:

• Initial form at day 41, Mid-Year form at day 183 and Year-End form on day 365
• Each of these submissions will generate a builder repair period, as happens today
• Whatever items are on the homeowners list at the time it is due to be submitted will be auto-submitted by MyHome

This builds on the current ability for a homeowner to update lists under the interim changes Tarion put forward in 2020. This change also leverages Tarion’s MyHome portal and makes it easier for homeowners to add items as they are noticed during the first year.

The added items would then be consolidated into a “submission list” and submitted to the builder at the new key intervals – 41 days (initial form), mid-year, year-end – and would then generate a builder repair period. For example – a homeowner adds 10 items before day 40. On day 41 that list locks and is submitted to the builder and a repair period starts. The homeowner can continue to add another 10 items after day 41, however these items will not be submitted to the builder until the mid-year submission.

These changes address one of the key issues by removing arbitrary timelines for homeowners to add/submit items and gives them the ability to add items at any time during the first year, while also providing stability for builders by providing consolidated lists to them at clearly identified milestones in the first year.

The builder cannot see the itemized list until it is auto-submitted by MyHome.

Tarion has also changed when homeowners can ask for a conciliation inspection during the first-year. Now, for the initial and mid-year from, a homeowner would have the ability to request a conciliation from day 1 of the builder’s repair period up until the next form submission date. For the year end form, a homeowner can request a conciliation up to 150 days after the end of the first year.

However, the conciliation inspection will only be scheduled for a date after the builder repair periods have expired.

• A homeowner can request conciliation for the Initial form anytime between day 42 and day 183, which is when the Mid-Year form will be auto-submitted
• A homeowner can request conciliation for the Mid-Year form anytime between day 184 and day 365, which is when the Year-End form will be auto-submitted
• A homeowner can request conciliation for the Year-End form anytime between day 366 and day 516, which is 150 days after the end of the first year.

Tarion used 150 days after the end of the first year as that is currently the last day a homeowner could RFC. Under the current CSS a homeowner has a 30-day period from day 487 to day 516 to RFC. So the homeowner has more flexibility to RFC at the year end, but they do not have additional days after the end of the first year.

This process will help homeowners by not limiting the window in which a homeowner can request a conciliation inspection. This also creates more flexibility for homeowners and builders to work together by removing the urgency for homeowners to request a conciliation.

For example - A builder who is not able to address an issue due to trade or material shortages in the repair period could reach an agreement with the homeowner to address the issue at a later date. The homeowner may be more receptive with the knowledge that if the builder still does not fulfill their obligations they do not lose their right to seek assistance from Tarion in the future.

For any homeowners who request conciliation during the 120-day initial builder repair period (between day 42 and day 162), the second 30-day builder repair period follows directly after the initial 120-day repair period expires (there is no gap between the first and second builder repair periods resulting in a 150-day repair period).

For RFCs made after the 120-day initial builder repair period expires (between day 163 and day 183), the second 30-day builder repair period begins after the request is made (there is a gap between the two builder repair periods)

The year-end repair period works the same way and the initial builder repair period expires on day 486 – or 120 days after the end of the first year.

The second 30-day builder repair period begins on the date the request is made, but the homeowner must make this request by day 516.

The 30-day post conciliation repair period remains unchanged.