BUILDING DURHAM

On September 14, 2023, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his government would be removing the GST on construction of new rental apartment buildings.

The federal Liberals originally promised to do this during the 2015 election, however the plan was scrapped.  Trudeau stated they scrapped the promise because it didn't respond to needs at the time.

However, now with increasing housing costs, the federal government feels this move will help making housing more affordable.  The GST would be removed for labour and materials for homebuilders.

On Monday, September 18, 2023, Oshawa's Safety & Facilities Committee will be considering Report SF-23-28 - Additional Proposed Policy Options for the Residential Housing Licensing Program.

Since the spring of 2022, the City of Oshawa has been considering expanding their Residential Rental Housing Licensing (RRHL) program from the area surrounding Durham College and Ontario Tech University to all wards of the City.

DRHBA has been consistently opposed to expanding the program, submitting correspondence in May 2022 and May 2023.  The Association has also submitted correspondence ahead of Monday's meeting.

The Durham Region Home Builders' Association strongly believes that this program will add more red tape and costs to rental units, while offering no additional protection for tenants that doesn't already exist within provincial legislation and the municipality's property standards bylaw.

On Tuesday, August 22, 2023, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark announced important changes to appoint regional government facilitators with a focus on growth, housing and infrastructure and reviewing the existing provincial definition of affordable housing. OHBA welcomes these changes to help ensure communities across Ontario are focused on enabling greater housing supply and choice. Please see excerpts on these updates from the provincial news release below,

Regional Facilitators

The province intends to appoint regional facilitators in Durham, Halton, Niagara, Waterloo, York and Simcoe County by September 11, 2023. These facilitators will be tasked with assessing local governance structures in these communities to ensure they are prepared to support future growth and meet the needs of their residents, particularly when it comes to building homes and housing-enabling infrastructure.

Updating the Provincial Definition of Affordable Housing

The government intends to introduce changes to the Development Charges Act that would, if passed, incorporate income factors in addition to market factors in this definition. To ensure low- and moderate-income Ontarians in all parts of the province can find a truly affordable home, affordable homes that meet the province’s definition would be eligible for discounts and exemptions on development-related fees, to help lower the cost of building, purchasing and renting affordable homes across the province.

The province has committed to harmonizing the Ontario Building Code with the National Building Code by the end of March, 2024. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing (MMAH) is drafting new building code regulations that will include (if approved) a significant number of changes to the Ontario Building Code. The Ministry hopes to have the new regulations filed and available for public review sometime in late 2023, pending the provincial government’s approval. The Ontario Home Builders’ Association continues to emphasize the need for appropriate time for adoption to ensure a successful transition and application of the new code. We hope to have more information on the changes and timelines over the coming months. We will continue to engage with the Ministry and provide input and comment, as we have on prior industry consultations.

Home builders, building officials, consultants, product manufacturers and others impacted by the proposed code changes are encouraged to review the “Proposed Changes for the Next Edition of Ontario’s Building Code” detailed in the Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 code consultations. Furthermore, OHBA will be bringing forward more resourcing this Fall to support members on code and technical matters in addition to the important service offerings through the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. Members can subscribe to CHBA’s ‘Housing Tech News’ and other e-publications here with information on important work being carried out in the codes front. 

The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is updating its regulations related to crane usage and operation on construction sites,

Amendments to various crane-related provisions of O. Reg. 213/91 (Construction Projects) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) include:

• Clarifying or adding new design, installation, maintenance, inspection, and record-keeping requirements.
• Requiring more comprehensive inspections of tower cranes, including referencing the Professional Engineers of Ontario's practice standard for tower crane review, and clarifying and expanding the role and responsibilities of professional engineers in the design, erection, and inspection of tower cranes.
• Introducing new, and updating existing, references to relevant national and international standards relating to the design and operation of tower cranes.
• Addressing advances in technology, including adding and amending requirements that take into account specific operational needs for self-erecting tower cranes.
• Clarifying requirements for cables, slings and rigging that apply to all cranes and cover hoisting operations by other equipment.

Amendments to O. Reg. 420/21 (Notices and Reports Under Sections 51 to 53.1 of the Act - Fatalities, Critical Injuries, Occupational Illnesses and Other Incidents) under the OHSA have also been approved. The amendments will add a new requirement for the Ministry to be notified of a failure to control a crane or a load, including any rigging failure, and for an engineer’s report on the cause of the incident. 

Most amendments will come into force on January 1, 2024. Other requirements, including those that may require equipment upgrades, will come into force on January 1, 2025, to provide stakeholders with additional time to comply with the changes. The Ministry held previous public consultations on proposed amendments relating to tower cranes and other cranes. These changes are driven by industry groups representing both management and labour, while ensuring red tape is kept to a minimum without compromising worker safety.

For more information on the amendments, please see the amending regulations O. Reg. 241/23 and O. Reg. 242/23. The amendments have been consolidated into the e-Laws version of O. Reg. 213/91 and O. Reg. 420/21. For more information on employer responsibilities under the OHSA, please review the OHSA webpage or contact the Ministry’s Health and Safety Contact Centre at 1-877-202-0008.

Members should be aware that the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery is seeking input on proposed measures related to new home purchase agreements and price escalations. A consultation has been launched accordingly with a due date of August 13^th.

The areas of focus for the consultation include,

1. Proposed limits on the amount by which a provision of a new home purchase agreement can permit prices to increase.
2. Proposed limits on the amount by which a builder can increase the price of a new home after the builder has cancelled an agreement to sell it.
3. Permitting consumers to launch class action lawsuits against builders who attempt to escalate the prices of their new homes.
4. Publishing information about the number of purchase agreements for freehold homes (that is, non-condominium homes) a builder has cancelled for a reason unrelated to the fault of the buyer.
5. Establishing a cooling-off period for buyers of new freehold homes.
6. Proposal to make it mandatory for new home buyers to receive a legal review during a new home purchase.

OHBA is working in collaboration with our HBA Chapters across Ontario on this public consultation. It is critical that we collectively provide a clear message on ways to better protect consumers and crucially, ensure a sustainable new home construction industry in Ontario. As we coordinate a public policy response, we will have materials that can be utilized by Chapters and members soon to respond accordingly.

Members should be aware of changes to new home warranty coverage in Ontario that came into effect on July 1, 2023, and will apply to homeowners who enter into a purchase agreement on, or after, that date.

Warranty Limits

Warranty Compensation Limit has been increased from $300,000 (current) to $400,000. This change applies to freehold homes in which the homeowner owns the land and the home, such as detached, semi-detached homes and some townhouses. The warranty compensation limit for condominium units will not increase, as those homes already benefit from additional coverage under the builder’s Common Elements warranty.

Temporary Relocation Warranty – Registrars Bulletin #7

The new Temporary Relocation Warranty of $150/day - up to a maximum of $15,000 - will help cover costs homeowners may have to pay associated with temporary accommodations. This coverage for both condominium and freehold homeowners applies if a warranted repair renders the home uninhabitable and they are required to relocate while repairs or remediation is completed. Full details can be found in the new Registrar Bulletin 7.

Changes to the Customer Service Standard

Tarion is also making changes to the Customer Service Standard (CSS). Following the implementation of interim measures in September 2020, Tarion has now made regulatory changes to the Customer Service Standard, effective July 1, 2023, by:

• Creating a new requirement that Tarion must schedule a conciliation inspection within 15 days of the request being made and make changes to the current timeline requirements for conducting the conciliation inspection and issuing the conciliation assessment report.

The following changes will take effect for homebuyers who have a date of possession on or after May 1, 2024:

• Extending the initial homeowner submission period by 10 days (now 40 days).
• Making the interim 10-day grace period at the end of the first-year warranty period permanent.
• Creating a mid-year submission at six months.
• Allowing homeowners to add items to a running list of potential defects at any time during the first-year warranty period.
• Expanding when homeowners can ask for a conciliation inspection during the first-year warranty period by removing the 30-day timeline for a homeowner to request a conciliation and instead allowing them to request a conciliation for each submission from the time it is submitted up until the next submission date.

Additional information will be provided in advance of the May 1, 2024, in-effect date. For more information on these new measures, please view the backgrounder here.

OHBA is aware of both specific material shortages and labour strikes that may impact members. These challenges could result in a temporary shortage of building materials or necessary skilled trades which could impact construction timelines and after sales servicing. OHBA has also been in contact with Tarion on the potential impact on new home construction and warranty processes. We are currently monitoring the following situations,

• Canada Brick shortage stemming from a pause in production at a production facility
• Hydro Ottawa Strike
• BC Port Strike

We will update members as these situations progress and their potential impact on members and their operations.

OHBA and BILD will be co-hosting an informational webinar for members on Monday August 8th at 4:00 p.m. This membership webinar is for the Provincial Consultation for Consumer Protections Related to New Home Purchase Agreements and Price Escalations.

Members are encouraged to attend the meeting with a presentation from provincial staff and provide any feedback. Through this consultation the Ministry is seeking feedback on a Consultation Paper that discusses:

1. Issues that consumers are experiencing with price escalations of new homes after they have already been purchased, including proposals to address price escalations;

2. A legislated cooling-off period for new freehold home purchases; and

3. A requirement that buyers receive legal advice on their purchase agreements for new homes.

Registration details below.

When: Aug 8, 2023 04:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Consumer Protection Consultation

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-EyDoVT5TCqWgDE9qW7L9A

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

The Ontario Home Builders' Association's board of directors today voted to terminate their CEO, Luca Bucci, effective today, August 1, 2023 and asked that members receive this memorandum.