Tarion builder lookup: where it moved.

Why the old Tarion lookup address redirects

When this page was written, tarion.com/ontariobuilderdirectory returned a 301 permanent redirect to obd.hcraontario.ca. Tarion’s licensing page explains the reason: the HCRA is responsible for regulating and licensing new home builders and vendors, enforcing competency standards, handling buyer complaints about builder conduct and managing the Ontario Builder Directory. So a search for a Tarion builder lookup ends at an HCRA tool.

For how to use that directory, including searching under the exact legal company name, see our HCRA guide, linked in the related tools. This page covers the part that stays with Tarion: the warranty.

What Tarion still does

Tarion’s pages describe a warranty that is provided by the builder and backstopped by Tarion. If a builder does not resolve an issue or says it is not covered, the homeowner can claim with Tarion. Coverage begins when you sign the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, with pre-possession financial protection of four types: deposit protection, delayed closing or occupancy coverage, condominium cancellations, and financial loss coverage for contract homes.

On the builder side, Tarion’s licensing page says builders need a Qualification for Enrolment Confirmation to sell and an Enrolment Confirmation to build, subject to conditions such as security. Tarion’s warranty page adds that a new home built by an HCRA-licensed builder or vendor is eligible if it meets four criteria under the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act (the ONHWP Act).

How the warranty years run

After possession, Tarion’s coverage page describes three periods. Year one begins on the possession date (the occupancy date for a condominium) and covers defects in work and materials, Ontario Building Code violations, unauthorized substitutions and fitness for habitation. Year two covers water penetration through basement or foundation walls, exterior cladding, defects in electrical, plumbing and heating systems, and Building Code violations that affect health and safety. The seven-year major structural defect warranty begins on the possession date and ends on the seventh anniversary.

Tarion also lists a Temporary Relocation Warranty: the builder should pay up to $150 per day while the home is uninhabitable, to a maximum of $15,000, and you can apply to Tarion if it does not.

Coverage limits depend on when you signed

Tarion sets limits by the date of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. For agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023, its coverage page lists freehold homes up to $400,000, condo units up to $300,000, common elements up to $100,000 per unit capped at $3.5 million, a combined condo project cap of $50 million, and environmental hazards up to $50,000. Agreements signed from February 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023 have a $300,000 freehold limit, and earlier agreements have other limits. Check the page for your signing date.

A worked example (hypothetical dates)

A buyer signs an agreement for a freehold home on 1 November 2026, with possession expected on 15 September 2027. Signed after July 1, 2023, so the $400,000 freehold limit applies under Tarion’s published table. Pre-possession protection starts at signing. The one-year warranty would run from 15 September 2027 to 15 September 2028, year two to 15 September 2029, and the seven-year structural coverage to 15 September 2034. If possession slips, every date moves with it, because each period starts on possession.

Before signing the buyer searches the Ontario Builder Directory under the exact legal name on the agreement, finds the licence, notes any conditions and then phones Tarion to ask whether the home will be enrolled. The names, dates and home are invented.

Common mistakes

Searching under the sales-centre brand rather than the legal company name, treating a licence as the same thing as warranty enrolment, and assuming coverage starts at closing. Tarion says coverage begins when you sign. Another is relying on a Tarion registration number from an old brochure; this page has no source saying how old numbers map to HCRA licences, so confirm with HCRA.

Who this is for

People buying a new freehold, contract or condominium home in Ontario, and the lawyers, agents and family who help them. It is not for resale homes, which are outside the new home warranty.

What this page does not cover

• It does not search the directory or confirm that any builder is licensed or enrolled.
• It does not state a format for HCRA licence or Tarion registration numbers, which the pages read do not give.
• It does not explain claims, exclusions or deadlines in detail; read Tarion’s pages.
• It is not legal advice on your agreement of purchase and sale.