A Toronto-area developer suspected of illegally selling a home may now lose his permit and be ordered to pay compensation to buyers.
A real estate developer that builds multiple condos, townhouses and detached housing communities in most areas now faces severe penalties, according to BlogTo. Because the company was found to be selling homes to residents without proper permits and registrations.
The Residential Building Regulatory Authority (HCRA), which was appointed in 2021 to oversee the province's builder operations, is ordering Markham-based Ideal (BC) Developments to pay a total of $150,000 to families who buy homes from the company.
In a press release this year, HCRA said, "This company has never been licensed to build or sell new homes in Ontario. ”
"The company illegally collected hundreds of thousands of deposits from unsuspecting buyers when it sold off-plan new homes in Richmond Hill," the agency said. And added that Ideal also failed to provide evidence during the search warrant, which would result in the company being fined another 18,750. Illegal sales are punishable by a fine of 15,625.
此外，与违规品牌相关的同一旗帜下的两家子公司：Ideal (MM) Developments Inc.和Ideal (WC) Developments Inc.也将不被允许续现有许可证。
According to the ruling, Ideal as a whole "will not continue to build or sell homes" except to complete a single project that it is already (legally) building in Markham.
The company faces 10 charges of failing to obtain a permit when selling a home at Bostwick Crescent in Richmond Hill and failing to register with the Tarion Warranty Corporation, in violation of Ontario's new residential building permits law.
HCRA will split the $150,000 equally among the affected buyers, who have already paid their deposits, though reports indicate that there are many other victims who have purchased properties at Ideal's now-canceled project and have lost millions of dollars in total.
"This result reinforces our message that anyone building and selling a new home must obtain a valid license from HCRA. This is the law," the organization said of the ruling.
"While this compensation does not necessarily compensate the purchaser for all of the deposit lost, we hope that it will help mitigate some of their financial losses. ”