> Canada
Canadian Advocacy Groups Form To Help New Home Buyers
by Jim Adair
After moving out of her new home because she says it makes her sick, an Ottawa woman has launched a consumer advocacy group for new home buyers and consumers who are renovating their houses. Karen Somerville took legal action against the builder from whom she and her husband bought a new home in August 2000. She says the home has a flaw that allows water into the basement, and a heating and ventilation system that is too small for the house, resulting in mould that makes it impossible for her to live there. Asthma and allergy problems forced her to move to an apartment while the case is still before the courts. In the meantime, she formed Canadians for Properly Built Homes, which calls itself the "first known national consumer protection organization in Canada related specifically to home construction and renovation." "While many new homes and renovation projects meet appropriate building code standards, there is clear evidence that serious deficiencies exist in various regions in Canada," says a news release issued by the organization. It says tax dollars are being spent to "fix the problems caused by poor home construction and renovations. Examples include energy inefficiencies being addressed through Natural Resources Canada programs and government assistance to the leaky condominiums in British Columbia." B.C. has its own consumer advocacy group called Consumer Advocacy and Support to Homeowners Society. It was originally formed in 2000 to address issues related to the province's leaky condo crisis, in which thousands of buildings were found to have significant building defects. CASH says it exists because, "The combination of a lack of skill or competency requirements for all trades to build homes, the highly competitive nature of the construction industry and a lack of proper accountability mechanisms continues to reward shoddy construction, low bids and cost-cutting measures. Homeowners/buyers must overcome horrendous hurdles to identify and/or repair problem housing." It says, "Thousands of British Columbians have lost their homes through no fault of their own. For those who can manage the repair and litigation costs, justice has been elusive, expensive, onerous and drawn out. Many homeowners simply do not have the financial capacity to seek justice of any kind. Innocent, hard working citizens of all ages have been abandoned by the current system. What is most disturbing, without effective deterrents and reasonable access to justice, we are condemned to repeat the past." Each Canadian province is responsible for licensing and administration of the building industry. In Ontario, the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act is administered by a private corporation, which licenses builders and is responsible for enforcement of the warranty. The corporation, formerly known as the Ontario New Home Warranty Program, changed its name in April to Tarion, after conducting extensive focus groups and undergoing a re-branding exercise. Greg Gee, president and CEO of Tarion, said, "We are evolving to become a modern, consumer-focused business that stands for reputable builders and peace of mind for new home buyers. We have made significant progress towards this goal already, and there are more improvements to come over the next year." For years, the organization has been accused of being more interested in protecting builders than consumers. Its board of directors has been dominated by representatives of the development community, and consumers like Somerville say it does little to protect their interests. Well-known real estate lawyer and newspaper columnist Bob Aaron, writing recently about Somerville's case, said, "According to its enabling statute, Tarion exists to administer the warranty plan, establish a guarantee fund, assist in conciliating disputes, and improve communications between vendors and owners. I believe that Tarion does not have a written mandate to protect the public interest. Until the Act is changed to require the program to serve the public interest and to widen the scope and amount of the warranty coverage, there are going to be many more people like Somerville ... who are unhappy with Tarion's coverage." But Tarion says it is encouraged that its redesigned, user-friendly website is getting 15,000 to 20,000 visits per month. It includes a "Find a Builder" section and includes information about builders' claims histories and customer service records. There are also consumer education publications that can be downloaded. Tarion also has a new toll-free information number, and it says it is taking a more aggressive approach to finding and prosecuting illegal builders. Its team of eight enforcement officers laid 831 charges in 2003, a 50 per cent increase over the number of charges laid in 2002. With all this information available to new home buyers, both the advocacy groups and the warranty administrators hope to cut down on the number of disputes that cost consumers and builders a lot of time and money. | 
