{"id":907,"slug":"tarion-april-2026-freehold-45-day-notice-rule","title":"O. Reg. 17/25 freehold deposit change — from April 1, 2026, buyers must notify Tarion within 45 days of signing to qualify for full coverage; tier change deferred to Jan 1, 2027","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team","client-prospect"],"topics":["gc-vertical","tarion-warranty","regulatory-signals"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Under **O. Reg. 17/25**, freehold purchasers must notify Tarion within **45 days of signing the Agreement of Purchase and Sale** to qualify for the full deposit coverage limit. Effective dates:\n\n- **April 1, 2026:** 45-day notice rule takes effect.\n- **January 1, 2027:** coverage-tier changes take effect (separate $15M annual sub-fund for buyers who didn't notify; pro-rated payouts if total claims exceed it).\n\nBuyers who do **not** notify within 45 days share the separate $15M annual sub-fund instead of the main pool. If total claims against that sub-fund exceed $15M in a year, payouts are pro-rated.\n\n**No change for condo deposits** — see [[tarion-deposit-protection-condo-trust-20k-backup]].\n\n**Source:** <https://www.tarion.com/node/66087>\n\n**Confidence:** Verified.\n\n**Practical implication for builder clients:** Builders need to update their sales-process and contract-handover workflows to give freehold buyers explicit instructions to register with Tarion within 45 days. A short post-signing checklist email is the cheapest mitigation.\n\n**Practical implication for Candid client content:** Pre-construction freehold marketing pages should mention this requirement explicitly from late 2025 onward. It is the kind of detail buyers will remember the builder that helped them with — and resent the builder that didn't.\n\n**Caveat:** Rule mechanics could be amended further before April 2026. Re-verify against tarion.com closer to the date.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"tarion-deposit-protection-freehold-and-contract-homes","title":"Tarion deposit protection — freehold: $60K (≤$600K homes) or 10% to $100K (>$600K); contract homes: $40K financial-loss coverage","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-tarion-ontario-may-2026","title":"Research brief: Tarion Warranty Corporation — definitive reference (May 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"tarion-deposit-protection-freehold-and-contract-homes","title":"Tarion deposit protection — freehold: $60K (≤$600K homes) or 10% to $100K (>$600K); contract homes: $40K financial-loss coverage","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"tarion-deposit-protection-condo-trust-20k-backup","title":"Condo deposit protection — held in trust under Condominium Act s.81; Tarion backs up $20K if trust fails","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-builder-site-disclose-tarion-warranty-on-new-home-pages","title":"RULE: Every Candid builder-client site must surface Tarion warranty coverage on every new-home product/landing page, with 1-2-7 structure named and CSS forms referenced","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-05-24T14:19:39.472Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T14:19:39.472Z"}