Closing & occupancy
What happens if my pre-construction closing gets delayed?
Delays are normal and the agreement usually permits the builder to extend. Tarion's delayed closing compensation can provide up to $7,500 in total, including living expenses at $150 per day, but the claim must be made to the builder within 180 days and the statutory notice rules must have been met.
Expect a delay. Low-rise construction slips for weather, trades, servicing, inspections and municipal approvals, and your agreement is written to accommodate that.
How the dates work
Your agreement, together with the Tarion addendum, sets up a sequence of dates rather than one date: a first tentative closing date, the builder’s rights to set subsequent dates on prescribed notice, and eventually a firm closing date beyond which compensation becomes payable.
The notice requirements are specific and the timing matters. The practical point for you: a date in the agreement is not a date you can plan a life around until it has firmed up.
Delayed closing compensation
Where the builder fails to meet its obligations under the statutory scheme, Tarion’s delayed closing compensation can cover:
- Living expenses, meals and accommodation, at a fixed $150 per day of delay.
- Other prescribed costs such as moving and storage.
- To a maximum of $7,500 in total.
Two conditions catch people out:
- You must claim to the builder within 180 days. Miss it and the entitlement is generally gone.
- Keep receipts. The living-expense component is evidenced, not assumed.
And note the ceiling honestly: $7,500 does not make you whole for a six-month delay. It is a contribution, not an indemnity.
What a delay actually costs you
- Rate holds expire. A delay past your hold means requalifying at current rates. This is frequently the most expensive consequence by a wide margin. More.
- Interim housing, storage and a second move.
- Sale timing on your existing home falls out of sync. Bridge financing becomes harder, not easier, when the other side is moving.
- Lease overlap if you are renting.
How to manage it
Read the extension provisions before signing so you know how far the date can legitimately move.
Do not sell your existing home to a date tied to a tentative builder date. Wait until the date firms up, commonly around the time the pre-delivery inspection is scheduled.
Avoid committing to a hard move-out until you have a firm closing date in writing.
Keep your lender informed and understand your rate hold expiry.
Track your 180 days from the delay if compensation may be due.
The thing worth knowing in advance
Builders differ enormously in how reliably they hit dates, and that record is not on any price list. It is one of the more useful things to know before choosing between two comparable communities, and one of the main reasons to ask someone who has closed homes with that builder before.
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