Richmond Hill’s Ideal (BC) Development Inc. has been ordered to pay $184,375 in fines by the Ontario Court of Justice.
After an investigation by the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA), Ideal (BC) Development Inc. pleaded guilty to selling a new home without a licence and other charges.
According to an HCRA news release, Ideal (BC) has never had a licence to build or sell new homes in Ontario and illegally took in hundreds of thousands of deposits on the sale of new homes in Richmond Hill from unsuspecting purchasers.
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 court also ordered Ideal (BC) to pay $150,000 to the HCRA as a restitution order.
“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 chief executive officer and registrar. “While this restitution does not compensate purchasers for their lost deposits, we hope it helps alleviate some of their financial loss.”
The HCRA said in turn it will distribute the funds 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 they had entered into agreements of purchase and sale without a licence.
“The HCRA will continue to investigate and take action against illegal building and selling where necessary,” Moir said. “Consistently enforcing high professional standards for the sector is critical for protecting consumers and giving new home buyers confidence when making one of the biggest purchases of their lives.”
As an additional step, the HCRA said it has also refused to renew licences for all Ideal Developments Inc. and all related companies, and they are no longer licensed to build or sell new homes.
