Ontario builder who sold homes without authorization has licence revoked

Ontario’s home construction regulator revoked the licence of a builder that didn’t have proper authorization to sell 108 homes and had an ”unexplained shortfall” of more than $14 million in deposit funds. 
On Thursday afternoon, the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) revoked the licence of Mariman Homes, meaning the builder can no longer sell and build homes in Ontario.
After receiving numerous complaints from purchasers, the HCRA suspended Mariman’s licence in December 2023 after an inspection revealed the company had entered into agreements of purchase and sale for 108 homes without proper authorization and enrolment in Tarion’s warranty program — Ontario’s consumer protection agency for new builds.
In addition, the HCRA discovered that Mariman had allowed its creditors to seek “improper price increases” from purchasers and “failed to hold the deposits it received in trust, as was required under Mariman’s purchase agreements,” the press release said. 
“Given these infractions, including a history of financial mismanagement, the HCRA has revoked Mariman’s license to build and sell new homes,” Wendy Moir, chief executive officer and registrar of the HCRA, said in a statement.
“Protecting consumers is our top priority. This builder’s past and present conduct raises serious doubts about its ability to operate their business lawfully, and with honesty and integrity.”
The HCRA says they gave Mariman the chance to enroll the homes and complete construction within the promised time frame to purchasers — the goal was to have purchasers obtain their homes, rather than revoking Mariman’s licence which would shut down the builder’s operations immediately.
“Unfortunately, Mariman was unable to satisfy its commitments,” the release said. “As a result, the HCRA revoked its license to build or sell homes and ordered it to pay administrative penalties totalling $400,000.”
Anyone building or selling a new home in Ontario is required to have a valid licence from the HCRA and must apply to Tarion for approval to enroll the home in the province’s warranty plan, the release said, adding, “It is illegal to build and sell new homes without meeting these requirements.” 
Previous Star reporting found that Mariman Homes’ assets had been put into receivership and that the HCRA found there was an “unexplained shortfall” of $14 million of deposit funds from homebuyers across several projects.
Mariman Homes did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 
While the builder is in the receivership process, it is unclear whether the purchase agreements will be cancelled or if another party may honour those agreements. Because of that, Tarion is unable to to refund a purchaser’s deposit, up to the coverage limit, until the process is resolved.