Effective July 1, 2021, the Government of Ontario implemented a Code of Ethics which sets out clear ethical standards that Ontario’s licensed home builders and sellers must meet. In addition, s.57 of the New Home Construction Licensing Act, 2017 and the Code of Ethics set out the establishment of Discipline and Appeals Committees.

If the HCRA receives a complaint about a licensee’s conduct and believes there may be a Code of Ethics violation, it may refer the matter to the Discipline Committee

Discipline Committee

The Discipline Committee hears and determines whether licensees have complied with the Code of Ethics. The Discipline Committee may order a licensee to:

• Take further educational courses
• Fund educational courses for persons that the licensee employs or to arrange and fund the courses
• Pay a fine up to a maximum of $50,000 for individual licensees and $100,000 for non-individual licensees to be paid to the regulatory authority
• Pay a fine above the maximum amount if the licensee received a monetary benefit from failing to comply with the Code of Ethics.
• Suspend or postpone the taking of further educational courses, the funding or the arranging of educational courses or the imposition of the fine for the period and upon the terms the committee designates
• Fix and impose costs that the licensee is required to pay to the HCRA

The Discipline Committee must consider any prior determination of the committee that a licensee failed to comply with the Code of Ethics and, subject to the maximum fine amount, may impose a more severe fine on the licensee. For more information, please see the Rules of Practice.

Discipline & Appeals Committee Members (Cross-Appointed)

Additional details, including discipline hearing schedules, are available on the Ontario Builder Directory.

Additional Compliance & Enforcement Actions

Referral to the Discipline Committee represents one course of action the HCRA may take against licensees who do not meet conduct and competency standards. Learn more about the additional regulatory action the HCRA may choose to enforce. These enforcement measures are all set in place to curtail unethical and illegal behaviour.