{"id":894,"slug":"builder-website-disclosure-audit-may-2026-activa-fusion-reids","title":"Builder-website HCRA disclosure audit (May 2026): of 10 fully-rendered homepages, Activa/Fusion/Reid's Heritage display licence numbers; Minto/Brookfield/Madison do not on homepage; none link to the OBD","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["gc-vertical","kw-region","regulatory-signals"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Of 25 Ontario builder homepages sampled by Candid Creative in May 2026 (KW-region + GTA/Ontario volume builders), 10 could be fully rendered to plain HTML. Of those 10:\n\n| Builder | HCRA # on homepage/footer? | Link to OBD? | Format |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| **Activa** (Waterloo) | Yes — Activa Holdings b39632, Activa Construction b23757, Deerfield Homes b33542 | No | Footer text; links to internal PDF certificate. Footer label misspelled \"HRCA\". |\n| **Fusion Homes** (Guelph) | Yes — \"B43939 \\| B30505\" | No | Numbers link to internal PDF certificates. |\n| **Reid's Heritage Homes** (KW) | Yes — \"HCRA LICENSE NUMBER B13651\" | No | Footer text, unlinked. |\n| **Tridel** | Yes on project pages — multiple entities (B48141, B61250, B45786, B62950, B45933, B48613, B47771, B47670) | No | Inline text + certificate PDFs at cdn.tridel.com. Corporate homepage footer not confirmable. |\n| **Minto** | Not in homepage footer; project pages have \"click here\" HCRA-certificate link | No | — |\n| **Brookfield Residential** | Not found. Footer lists only US-state licences (MHBR #408, CA DRE, AZ ROC) — no Ontario HCRA number | No | — |\n| **Madison Group** | Not found | No | — |\n\n**17 other builders** — Mattamy, Great Gulf, Empire, Menkes, Tribute, Fernbrook, HIP, Daniels, Lindvest, Dunpar, Granite, Cortel, Countrywide, Fieldgate, Paradise, Aspen Ridge, Remington — could not be fully rendered (JavaScript-only sites). **Disclosure status: not verifiable.**\n\n**Source:** Candid Creative internal audit, May 2026, cross-referenced with obd.hcraontario.ca.\n\n**Confidence:** Single-source.\n\n**Caveat:** The audit over-represents KW/Guelph builders and under-represents big-volume GTA brands. A follow-up audit using a browser-rendering tool (Playwright/Puppeteer) would close that gap.\n\n**Key findings for Candid:**\n- Displaying the HCRA licence number in a footer is the **new floor** — three KW/Guelph builders do it; three big GTA brands do not.\n- **No audited builder links the licence number directly to the OBD profile.** That gap is a best-in-class differentiation opportunity.\n- **Spelling matters:** Activa's footer says \"HRCA\" instead of \"HCRA\" — a real credibility issue.\n- Tridel's **project-page disclosure pattern** (per-entity licence + linked PDF) is the cleanest pattern observed.\n\nCanonical Candid rule: [[rule-display-hcra-licence-number-link-to-obd-on-builder-sites]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"ontario-builder-directory-obd-public-registry","title":"Ontario Builder Directory (obd.hcraontario.ca) — public registry showing licence status, homes built, Tarion claims, charges, convictions, discipline","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-hcra-ontario-may-2026","title":"Research brief: Ontario Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) — definitive reference (May 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-display-hcra-licence-number-link-to-obd-on-builder-sites","title":"RULE: Every Candid builder-client site must display HCRA licence number(s) in the footer of every page and link directly to the builder's OBD profile","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"builder-website-tarion-display-audit-may-2026","title":"May 2026 builder-website Tarion-disclosure audit — Tridel/Minto/Tamarack have dedicated Tarion pages; Daniels/Brookfield/Empire less explicit; cleanest pattern is per-project warranty workflow","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-24T13:50:00.882Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T13:50:00.882Z"}