{"id":880,"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","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["gc-vertical","public-registries","regulatory-signals"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** The Ontario Builder Directory at **<https://obd.hcraontario.ca/>** is the authoritative public record of every licensed (and many formerly licensed) new-home builder and vendor in Ontario. **7,232 licensees** as of March 31, 2025.\n\n**Source:** <https://www.hcraontario.ca/blog/2025/07/17/your-guide-to-the-ontario-builder-directory/>\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Visible on a profile:**\n- Legal name, operating/trade names, licence number, expiry date, licence status.\n- Years active and number of homes built (including condos).\n- **Tarion warranty overview**: claims paid, chargeable conciliations, per-property claim history.\n- **Regulatory Activities and Enforcement tab** (consolidated 2025): HCRA charges, court convictions, Notices of Proposal, compliance orders, conditions on licences, suspensions, revocations, Discipline Committee outcomes.\n- Insolvency filter (bankruptcy/receivership flag).\n- Condo project history including cancellations and reasons.\n\n**Not visible:** active investigation files, builder financial statements, pre-complaint warning letters, narrative warranty-claim detail, complaints not yet matured into a Notice or order.\n\n**Searchable by:** builder name, operating name, licence number, principal/director/officer name. Filters: licence status, insolvency status.\n\n**Reliability caveat:** Per Globe and Mail reporting on the 2025 AG audit and industry sources (Craig Macklin of Lumbermens Credit Reporting Group), the OBD is **\"incomplete, out of date and unreliable\"** in places. Treat it as the **necessary** starting point, not the sufficient endpoint.\n\n**For Candid client work:** Link directly to the builder's OBD profile from the builder's own website footer. No Ontario builder currently does this — best-in-class differentiator. See [[rule-display-hcra-licence-number-link-to-obd-on-builder-sites]].","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"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":"obd-search-workflow-buyer-due-diligence","title":"OBD search workflow — search by legal name AND principal name; umbrellas and Phoenix applications hide history under marketing brands","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"auditor-general-2025-hcra-99pct-approval-1526-backlog","title":"Auditor General 2025 report on HCRA: 99%+ approval rate (including 2,026 of 2,042 who failed credit), 1,526 complaint backlog, 419-day avg close","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-buyer-search-obd-before-signing-not-listed-means-unlicensed","title":"RULE: Buyers should search the Ontario Builder Directory before signing any Agreement of Purchase and Sale; not listed = unlicensed = walk away","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"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-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","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"tarion-conciliation-chargeable-1000-3000-process","title":"Tarion conciliation process — 120-day builder repair, $250 homeowner deposit, $1,000/$3,000 chargeable to builder if any item warranted, 10-year OBD record","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-24T13:50:00.824Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T13:50:00.824Z"}