Urbancorp warned over warranty claims, financial health

Urbancorp, one of Toronto's biggest property developers, has been warned it could lose its registration with Ontario's new-home warranty insurer unless it improves its record with home buyers.

Tarion Warranty Corp., which provides a warranty on new homes from registered builders,  has issued a notice of proposal to revoke the registration of 17 Urbancorp related companies, it confirmed on Thursday.

Tarion said it has concerns about the financial health of Urbancorp and the numbers of claims from buyers being made against the company.

"Despite the [notice of proposal], Urbancorp remains obligated to fulfill its commitments to its customers," Melissa Yollick, Tarion's senior manager of communications, said in an email to CBC News.

"This includes addressing warranty claims, seeking registration for any current condominium projects and completing any existing sales."

Buyers of Urbancorp condos and homes remain covered and Tarion will step in to fulfill the warranty obligations if Urbancorp fails to do so, she added.

Claims against Urbancorp

Tarion has a mandate to ensure that builders can meet their financial obligations, she said, but did not further elaborate on how  Urbancorp has failed to demonstrate its financial viability.

There have been claims against Urbancorp over delayed projects, deposit refunds and new homes in which the builder does not fulfill the contract with the homeowner.

Urbancorp's current projects include several along St. Clair West Ave., Ravines on Lawrence, Epic on Queen Street West and West Side Lofts and Val Homes in Etobicoke.

Urbancorp did not reply to a request for comment from CBC News. The company has the right to appeal the notice from Tarion.

Tarion has set up a special customer service team to specifically serve Urbancorp home buyers and home owners at 1-877-982-7466.