TORONTO – Ontario’s Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) has ordered Ideal (BC) Developments Inc. to pay $150,000 to the HCRA in restitution to be passed on to would-be home purchasers defrauded by the firm.
The company has pled guilty to selling a new home without a licence and other charges, stated a release. Ideal (BC) has never had a licence to build or sell new homes in Ontario but it illegally took in hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of deposits on the sale of new homes in Richmond Hill from unsuspecting purchasers, claims the HCRA.
As a result, the Ontario Court of Justice sentenced Ideal (BC) to fines of $15,625 for illegal selling and $18,750 for failing to provide evidence required by a search warrant.
The HCRA in turn will distribute the funds obtained in restitution equally among the wronged purchasers to partially offset the lost deposits they had paid to Ideal (BC). The charges and conviction stem from the HCRA’s investigation of Ideal (BC) regarding concerns the firm had entered into agreements of purchase and sale without a licence.
As an additional step, the HCRA has also refused to renew licences for Ideal Developments Inc. and all related companies, and they are no longer licensed to build or sell new homes.
“This outcome reinforces our message that anyone building and selling new homes must have a valid licence from the HCRA. It’s the law,” said Wendy Moir, the HCRA’s CEO and registrar, in a statement.
“While this restitution does not compensate purchasers for their lost deposits, we hope it helps alleviate some of their financial loss.”
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