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Problems With Your Home Builder in Ontario: Start Here
Builder problems and liens Start here From a builder
Problems With Your Home Builder in Ontario: Start Here
I have been building houses since 1979, and I have spent a fair bit of that time fixing what other people’s builders did. So this page is two things: a short open letter about how you got here, and a map of what to do now, with the pages on this site that go deep on each step.
Short version: If the builder is behind, over budget, asking for more money, doing bad work or not showing up: do not stop paying unilaterally (that is a breach too), put everything in writing from today, photograph the site, get the contract and the invoices in one folder, check the builder’s HCRA licence and Tarion enrolment, hold the 10 percent holdback the Construction Act requires, and then pick the path that fits: deficiencies go to Tarion forms and the warranty; a licensing or conduct problem goes to the HCRA; an abandoned job or a walkaway goes to the lien and cancellation rules; a serious money dispute goes to a construction lawyer, early, for an hour, not late for a lawsuit. The builder who quoted the lowest price for the biggest house is the one most likely to be on this page with you.
An open letter
The builder who offered the biggest house for the lowest price did it by compromising somewhere, and the somewhere is usually the parts you cannot see: the footing, the drainage, the framing, the flashing. Those show up as cracks, rot and doors that do not close, months after you moved in and he moved on.
A builder uses his experience either for you or against you, and you only get to choose once, at the signing. A good builder cannot build a bad house; it goes against his grain to hire the lowest sub, and his price feels high. A bad builder cannot build a good one; he does not know the difference, and his price feels like winning. With fifty trades and suppliers on a house and ten of each to choose from, he has five hundred choices, and every one was made for the price, not the job.
When the builder has nothing to lose, the homeowner stands to lose everything. That is not a slogan; it is the whole reason the Construction Act has a holdback, the HCRA has a licence, and Tarion exists.
Two things I would want you to know going forward. You bought the process, not the house: the long stretch between signing and moving in is what the contract was for, and the way a builder treats you before the signature is the best you will ever be treated. And whoever pulls the permit owns the inspections and the liability; if a builder built your whole house on a permit in your name, that was the first move in the game.
What to do this week
- Keep paying what the contract says is due for work that is done, and nothing for work that is not. Stopping all payment feels right and puts you in breach. When the builder wants more money covers the specific case of a price demand.
- Hold back 10 percent of every payment; the Construction Act requires it and it is your only real lever. The holdback explains how.
- Write it down. Every conversation, dated, confirmed by email the same day. Photograph the site weekly. Documenting your project is the method.
- Get the paper in one place: the contract, the specification, every invoice, every change order, every inspection report. Invoices and records says what you are entitled to see.
- Check the licence and the enrolment. How to check an HCRA licence takes two minutes and changes what you can do next.
- Read your contract for the termination, delay and dispute clauses before you say anything you cannot take back. The termination clause and the delay clause are the two that matter.
Then pick the path
| The problem | Where it goes | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Bad work, defects, things not finished | Deficiency list, Tarion forms and the warranty on a new home; the contract’s deficiency and final-payment terms on a renovation | Deficiencies and warranty, cosmetic vs serious defects |
| Builder is behind schedule | The delay clause, then written notice, then the remedies in the contract | Builder behind schedule |
| Builder wants more money | Change-order rules; fixed price means fixed; cost-plus means show me the invoices | Builder wants more money |
| Builder stopped showing up or walked away | Notice under the contract, lien protection, cancellation rights, a new builder | Contractor abandoned the job |
| Builder is unlicensed, lied, or behaved badly | HCRA complaint; the regulator can discipline, fine and revoke | HCRA licence check |
| Builder went bankrupt | Tarion’s process for insolvent builders; lien priority; a new contract | Builder goes out of business |
| Subs and suppliers are not being paid | Lien exposure on your house; holdback; direct payment rules | Construction liens for homeowners |
| You want out | Consumer Protection Act cancellation rights and the contract’s termination terms | Cancelling a renovation contract |
| It is a lot of money and getting worse | A construction lawyer, now, for an hour of advice, before the next payment | When to hire a construction lawyer |
About lawyers and banks
A lawyer is cheapest early. An hour with a construction lawyer before you send the angry letter costs a few hundred dollars and usually saves the lawsuit; a lawyer after you have stopped paying and the builder has liened the house costs the lawsuit. And do not expect the bank to protect you: it lent against your equity and is covered whether the house gets finished or not. Construction mortgages explains why the draws keep going out even when the work is bad, and what to tell the lender.
Next time
The pages under finding a reputable builder, the questions to ask before signing and contract red flags are this page in reverse. Run the contract through the free contract template and the checker before the next signature. And if the next house is in Simcoe County or on Georgian Bay, we would be glad to be interviewed with the same questions.
Related guides on this site
Sources and further reading
Questions people ask
What should I do first if my builder is not delivering?
Keep paying only what the contract says is due for completed work, hold the 10 percent holdback, put every conversation in writing from today, photograph the site, gather the contract and invoices, and check the builder's HCRA licence and Tarion enrolment. Then match the problem to the right path: Tarion for defects, HCRA for conduct, the lien and cancellation rules for an abandoned job, a lawyer for a serious money dispute.
Should I stop paying the builder?
Not unilaterally; withholding all payment can put you in breach. Pay for completed stages, hold back the 10 percent the Construction Act requires, refuse change orders you did not sign, and get advice before refusing a payment that is contractually due.
When do I need a lawyer?
Early and briefly: an hour with a construction lawyer before you send notice or refuse a payment is cheap. You need one in earnest when the amount in dispute is well above small claims court's $35,000 limit, a lien is registered, or the builder has walked away mid-build.
Can I complain about a home builder in Ontario?
Yes. New-home builders are licensed by the HCRA, which takes complaints about conduct and licensing; Tarion handles warranty claims on new homes; the Consumer Protection Act and Consumer Protection Ontario cover renovation contracts.
Before you sign anything
Run the contract through our free checker; it flags the clauses that cause most of the arguments we get called about. Building with us? The contract comes with the clauses already in it.
Reviewed and updated October 2026. Costs are Ontario ranges, not quotes; code references are to the Ontario Building Code in force at that date.
I found your article very interesting and have a question. We had a custom home designed and built by a team. They liked the plans that we developed together so much, that they used them to build a spec home a couple of miles from here. Now we find that the spec home is being referred to as the custom home and ours the spec home. We have been told that this could devalue. We don’t want to see versions of our house popping up all over the area. Can the custom design be used in this way?
Unfortunately, unless you wrote it specifically in your building agreement, you have no recourse.
How about a builder that verbally promises things and does not deliver