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HCRA and Tarion Licensed Builders in Toronto: How to Verify Yours

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Anyone can call themselves a builder. In Ontario, not everyone can legally build you a new home.

The short answer: every builder or vendor of a new home in Ontario must hold a licence from the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA), and eligible new homes must be enrolled with Tarion for warranty coverage. Both are legal requirements, not optional credentials — and both are publicly searchable, so you can verify any builder in about two minutes before you sign anything.

This applies to custom homes built on your own land, not just subdivision houses. If you are engaging a builder for a new build or a full teardown-and-rebuild, this is the first check worth making — and the one that most often gets skipped.

Here is what each body does, how to verify a builder yourself, and one recent rule change that could affect your deposit.

Licensed, Registered, Certified: The Words Matter

These terms get used interchangeably, including by builders. They mean different things.

The HCRA licenses builders and vendors. Since 2021, the Home Construction Regulatory Authority has been the regulator for Ontario’s new home building sector. It assesses technical competence, financial capacity and conduct, and it holds the power to refuse, suspend or revoke a licence. Building or selling a new home without an HCRA licence is illegal in Ontario, and it exposes both the homeowner and the wider industry to the consequences.

Tarion administers the warranty. Tarion is the non-profit that administers the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act. Builders enrol eligible homes, and Tarion provides the warranty coverage that protects the buyer.

There is no such thing as “HCRA certification.” A builder is licensed, or they are not. If a company describes itself vaguely on this point, that is worth a follow-up question.

How to Verify a Builder Yourself

This takes a couple of minutes and should happen before you sign a design agreement, not before you sign a construction contract.

Check the Ontario Builder Directory. The HCRA maintains a public directory of every licensed builder and vendor in the province. Search by company name. The listing shows licence status, how long they have been licensed, the number of homes they have built, and — importantly — any conditions on the licence, disciplinary history, or convictions.

Check the warranty history. Tarion publishes builder records showing homes enrolled and warranty claims history. A builder with a long record and few unresolved claims tells you something a portfolio of photographs cannot.

Confirm the entity matches. This is the step people miss. Verify that the licensed company name matches the legal entity on your contract. Businesses operate under trade names, and the name on the sign is not always the name on the licence.

Ask directly, in writing. A licensed builder will provide their licence number without hesitation. Reluctance here is informative.

What the Warranty Actually Covers

Warranty coverage after possession runs in three windows, each covering different things:

One year — defects in workmanship and materials, and compliance with the Ontario Building Code. This is the “fit and finish” period.

Two years — plumbing, electrical and heating systems, building envelope performance, and water penetration through the basement, windows or walls.

Seven years — major structural defects affecting the load-bearing elements of the home.

Before possession, coverage includes deposit protection, delayed closing or occupancy compensation, and financial loss coverage on contract homes. Coverage limits vary with home type and the date the agreement of purchase and sale was signed; for agreements signed on or after July 1, 2023, the maximum statutory warranty coverage for a freehold home is $400,000.

The warranty attaches to the property rather than the owner, so if you sell within the seven-year window, the remaining coverage transfers with the home. We’ve covered the warranty in more detail in our guide to the Tarion home warranty.

The 45-Day Rule: A Recent Change Worth Knowing

Effective April 1, 2026, purchasers of new freehold homes must give notice of their purchase to Tarion within 45 days of entering into an agreement of purchase and sale. Purchasers who register within that window qualify for the maximum deposit coverage available under the program. Those who register late, or not at all, fall under a separate capped fund.

The change was originally scheduled for January 1, 2026 and was deferred, and Tarion has implemented a transition period that defers the changes to deposit coverage until January 1, 2027. Registration is done using the Home ID found on the Warranty Information Sheet attached to your purchase agreement.

This is a homeowner obligation, not a builder one — which is precisely why it gets missed. Forty-five days passes quickly during the early stages of a project. Confirm with your builder that you have what you need to register, and register promptly.

Custom Builds and the Owner-Builder Trap

One point deserves particular emphasis for anyone considering acting as their own general contractor.

If you build your own home as an owner-builder, the standard warranty protections generally do not apply in the same way. The saving on a contractor’s fee comes at the cost of the deposit protection, the workmanship coverage, and the seven-year structural warranty — along with the regulatory oversight of whoever is doing the work.

For a project representing a seven-figure investment, that is a substantial amount of protection to trade away. Engaging a licensed builder who enrols the home properly is the single most effective protection available on a custom build.

Beyond the Legal Minimum

A licence establishes that a builder is permitted to operate. It does not establish that they are the right builder for your project.

Licensing is the floor, not the ceiling. Once you have confirmed a builder is licensed and in good standing, the questions that distinguish one from another are different ones: how long they have worked in your municipality, whether they have delivered projects of comparable scale and complexity, how they price and document change orders, how transparent their estimating is, and what their clients say about how problems were handled rather than how the finished photographs look.

A builder who is licensed, well-reviewed, and clear about their process is a materially different proposition from one who merely meets the legal requirement.

Novacon’s Standing

Novacon Construction has been building custom homes and major additions in Toronto since 2004. We are HCRA licensed and Tarion registered, and every eligible home we build is enrolled for warranty coverage.

We were named a Best of Houzz Service winner in 2025 and hold a 5.0 rating on Houzz. We are glad to provide our licence details on request, and we would encourage you to look us up in the Ontario Builder Directory rather than take our word for it — as you should with any builder you are considering.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between the HCRA and Tarion? The HCRA licenses and regulates builders and vendors in Ontario, assessing competence, financial capacity and conduct. Tarion administers the new home warranty that protects buyers. One governs who may build; the other governs what happens if something goes wrong.

Does a custom home built on my own land qualify for Tarion warranty? Yes, where it is built by a licensed vendor and properly enrolled. Contract homes built on an owner’s land are covered under the same 1, 2 and 7 year structure, along with pre-possession protections.

How do I check whether a builder is HCRA licensed? Search the Ontario Builder Directory on the HCRA website by company name. Confirm that the licensed entity matches the legal name on your contract, and review any conditions or disciplinary history on the listing.

What happens if I hire an unlicensed builder? Building or selling a new home without an HCRA licence is illegal in Ontario. As the homeowner, you may find yourself without warranty coverage, without deposit protection, and with limited recourse if the work is defective or the project is abandoned.

Do I need to register my purchase with Tarion myself? For a new freehold home, yes. As of April 1, 2026, notice must be given within 45 days of signing the agreement of purchase and sale to qualify for maximum deposit coverage.

Is a licensed builder automatically a good builder? No. Licensing is a minimum legal standard covering competence, finances and conduct. It says nothing about design capability, project management, communication, or whether a builder is suited to your particular project.

Planning a Custom Build in Toronto?

If you are considering a new home or a full rebuild and want to understand what the process involves, we would be glad to talk it through. Learn more about our custom home building services in Toronto, or schedule a consultation with Novacon Construction.

Warranty coverage, limits, deadlines and registration requirements are set by Tarion and the Ontario New Home Warranties Plan Act and change from time to time. The information here is current as of publication and provided for general guidance; confirm specifics with Tarion, the HCRA, and your own legal advisor.

Novacon Construction is an award-winning design-build company based in Toronto, Ontario. Specializing in custom homes, major home additions, and ADUs, Novacon has been delivering high-quality residential construction since 2004.

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