How to File a Tarion Warranty Claim: A Step-by-Step Guide

To file a Tarion warranty claim, you report defects through Tarion's MyHome online portal on one of the statutory warranty forms during its submission window, then give your builder a set repair period. If the builder does not resolve a covered item, you can request a Tarion conciliation, where an impartial inspector decides whether the item is covered and must be fixed. This guide walks through each step, with the current form names and deadlines.

This is the how-to companion to our Tarion warranty overview, which explains what the one, two, and seven year warranties actually cover. Here we focus on the process: setting up MyHome, filing the right form on time, and what happens if your builder does not come through. We walk buyers through this on pre-construction deals, and the pattern that decides most claims is simple: document early, submit on time, keep copies.

First, pin down your possession date

Every Tarion deadline is measured in days from your date of possession, so pin that date down before anything else. For a freehold home it is your closing and move-in date. For a condo it is usually the start of interim occupancy, not final closing, so your warranty clock can be running while you are still waiting to close. Confirm the exact date in writing and put it in your calendar on day one, because the forms below all count forward from it.

Set up MyHome, Tarion's online portal

You file every Tarion claim through MyHome, Tarion's online portal, so your first step is to register your account there. Your builder enrols the home with Tarion, which gives you access to a MyHome profile for your address. Inside MyHome you add each defect, attach photos, and submit your list to your builder and to Tarion at the same time, which creates a dated record. Filing by casual email instead leaves you without that record, so use the portal.

The first-year forms: Initial, Mid-Year, and Year-End

In your first year, Tarion gives you three forms to report defects, each with its own window measured in days from possession. Based on Tarion's claim forms and timelines:

• Initial Form: you can start adding items the day after possession, and it is submitted automatically around day 41. Use it to list anything left unresolved from your pre-delivery inspection plus any new items that have appeared.
• Mid-Year Form: you can add items from about day 42, and it is submitted automatically around day 183.
• Year-End Form: you can add items from about day 183, and it is submitted automatically around day 365, with a short grace period. Because the one-year warranty is the broadest, this is your last chance to report year-one items, so do not skip it.

One honest note on names: Tarion updated its Customer Service Standard, so older articles may still call the first form a 30-Day Form. The current first-year forms are the Initial, Mid-Year, and Year-End forms above. Confirm the exact names and day counts in your own MyHome account, since Tarion sets the precise dates for your home.

The second-year and major structural defect forms

After year one, two more forms cover the later warranty periods. The Second-Year Form can be submitted any time during the second year of possession, and you can submit it more than once as issues appear. The Major Structural Defect Form can be submitted any time after the second year, up to seven years from your date of possession, and it is only for significant structural failures, not cosmetic items. For exactly which defects fall in the two-year and seven-year periods, see the warranty overview.

What happens after you submit: the builder repair period

Submitting a form on time triggers a repair period during which your builder is expected to resolve the covered items on your list. Tarion describes this as a 120-day initial builder repair period in most cases, though some situations, like seasonal exterior work or an emergency, can run on a different timeframe. Keep every message, work order, and photo during this window. If the builder fixes everything, you are done. If items remain, you move to conciliation.

If the builder does not resolve it: conciliation

If your builder does not resolve a covered item, you can ask Tarion for a conciliation, where an impartial Tarion representative assesses whether each item is covered and must be fixed. A few things to know from Tarion's conciliation page:

• When you can request it: for the first-year forms you can generally request conciliation after the form is submitted up until the next form's deadline, and for the Year-End Form the window runs for a set number of days after submission. For the Second-Year and Major Structural Defect forms, you can request conciliation only within 30 days after the end of the builder repair period. These windows are firm, so do not wait past them.
• The fee: you pay $282.50 ($250 plus HST) to request a conciliation, and Tarion refunds it if it decides that at least one item it assesses is covered by the warranty.
• What happens: in most cases a Tarion Warranty Services Representative inspects the home with your builder's representative present, asks questions, takes photographs, and may bring in a specialist. Weeks later, you and the builder both receive a Conciliation Assessment Report that says which items are covered and must be resolved.

If it is still not fixed: Tarion steps in

If the report confirms an item is covered and the builder still does not resolve it, Tarion steps in to see that the work gets done or to compensate you, up to the warranty limits for your home. That backstop is the whole point of the program: your builder is first in line to fix defects, but Tarion stands behind the statutory warranty if the builder will not. This is also why the paper trail matters. The report and your dated MyHome submissions are what carry a stubborn claim to the finish.

The habits that win claims

The buyers who get clean outcomes do two simple things: they document early and they never miss a window. Take the pre-delivery inspection seriously, because the PDI record is your proof that a defect existed before you moved in. Open everything, run the water, and write down every deficiency no matter how small. Then diarize your key dates on possession day: the automatic submission dates in year one and the end of year two. Photograph problems as they appear, keep copies, and submit through MyHome so there is always a dated record. We set these dates with buyers at closing, because a legitimate defect reported late can quietly become nobody's problem.

Where we fit in

We represent the buyer, never the developer, and the warranty is part of that. At closing we make sure the pre-delivery inspection is done properly and the warranty timelines are in your calendar, so filing a claim later is a task, not a scramble. If you are still choosing a builder, a clean warranty record is one more reason track record matters. For what the warranty covers at each stage, read our Tarion warranty overview, and if you are new to buying new, start with how pre-construction works. Browsing new projects? Register for pre-construction alerts to get price lists and floor plans for new launches first. Free to register, no obligation.