Case Stories

A homeowner contacted the Ombuds office to complain that Tarion had hired the same engineer the homeowner previously hired, which he felt led to a conflict of interest. 

Our office investigated the matter and learned the homeowner provided Tarion with a report from the engineer to support his Second-Year warranty claims. Approximately six months later, Tarion retained the engineer’s firm to review another expert’s report and the same engineer previously hired by the homeowner was assigned by his engineering firm to conduct the review. The homeowner raised concerns with Tarion staff about a potential conflict-of-interest and later complained that the engineer had stopped communicating with him. However, the homeowner was not satisfied that Tarion took his concerns seriously, so he turned to the Ombuds office for help.

During our fairness review we learned that Tarion had offered to facilitate communication between the engineer and the homeowner. Tarion also explained that they hire technical experts based on a list of pre-approved contractors and that options may be limited in some parts of Ontario. 

Tarion agreed that the best practice would be to avoid engaging the same individual or firm that a homeowner had previously hired. We recommended that Tarion provide a written apology to the homeowner and to remind staff of this best practice.