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

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:

• April 1, 2026: 45-day notice rule takes effect.
• 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).

Buyers 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.

No change for condo deposits — see Condo deposit protection — held in trust under Condominium Act s.81; Tarion backs up $20K if trust fails.

Source: https://www.tarion.com/node/66087

Confidence: Verified.

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.

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.

Caveat: Rule mechanics could be amended further before April 2026. Re-verify against tarion.com closer to the date.