r/OntarioRealEstate

Hello all!

Essentially, I've been looking for a condo townhouse. I did find one in Ottawa and had started the process with a conditional offer, based on inspection.

When I got the inspection done, we had found that the unit was not very well maintained (was a rental), had many many small issues and some more major ones, the biggest being that the furnace would not work and was at life expectancy. The water tank was also 10 years over life expectancy. Other things included installation of a GFCI by a sink, repair ceiling in a closet that was left open to previous repairs, and other things of this nature. We excluded the majority if not all smaller items that we could do ourselves, but there was lots.

We had put these items in a amendment to the seller. and they returned with only replacing the water tank with another rental unit (so no real cost to them). My Realtor was also saying that we offended them with this amendment and that I shouldn't had done this, but my inspector privately told me to not sign anything unless they are willing to repair these items.

So my question is, were we being unreasonable with these amendments by asking the seller to replace or repair the above items? Who is more right? The Realtor or the inspector?

TLDR: Measured our new 1+den condo room by room. Every comparable room is smaller than the floor plan dimensions. The den is 14 inches shorter than advertised. Total shortfall across comparable rooms is 18.8 sq ft (3.36%), well over Tarion's 2% acceptable variance. We're proceeding with a Tarion warranty claim, hiring a licensed surveyor for official measurements, and retaining a real estate litigation lawyer. Looking to hear from anyone who's been through something similar or has advice on how to approach this.

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We recently took possession of a 1-bed + den in a new build in Toronto. The unit was marketed at 534 sq ft interior, 25 sq ft balcony, 559 total.

After moving in, something felt off about the den. Grabbed a tape measure and went room by room. Every single comparable room came in smaller than what's on the floor plan. The den is the worst - 14 inches shorter in width than what they sold us.

Here's what we found:

We lost 14\" of width in the den alone!

That's a 3.36% shortfall relative to the 559 sq ft and 3.52% shortfall relative to the 534 sq ft interior, which is well above the 2% variance that Tarion considers reasonable under Builder Bulletin 22.

I understand that builders measure from exterior wall faces and midpoints between units, so the marketed 534 sq ft was never going to match measuring room interiors. I'm not naive about that. But the floor plan has specific room dimensions printed on it, and those dimensions are materially wrong. A den that's over a foot shorter than advertised is a different room than what we were sold.

We're on a lower floor, so I'm sure the builder will try to chalk it up to thicker structural members. But thicker columns don't remove 14 inches from one dimension of one room. That's not how structural engineering works.

Also, in our attempts to find a renter for the unit, several of them came back and said the den is too small (which was actually what prompted us to measure it).

We're moving forward with a Tarion claim and are in the process of hiring a licensed Ontario Land Surveyor to do a proper measurement of the floor plan using the Bulletin 22 method so we have an apples-to-apples comparison. We're also retaining a real estate litigation lawyer to advise on next steps. A few other unit holders with the same floor plan will also be measuring their units.

My questions for the community:

1. Has anyone in a newer Toronto build measured their unit and found similar discrepancies between the floor plan and reality?
2. Has anyone successfully filed a Tarion claim over square footage? How did it go?
3. Any recommendations for a real estate litigation lawyer experienced with Tarion disputes in the GTA?
4. For anyone in a similar situation, did you find the discrepancy was consistent across floors, or only on lower levels?

At Toronto condo prices per square foot, ~19 sq is thousands of dollars. We paid for a unit of a certain size. We didn't get it.

Appreciate any advice or shared experiences.

Can someone in Ontario real estate explain how this is legal?

I'm a firm buyer on a new build. Buried in my Agreement of Purchase and Sale is a clause that binds me to assume a water heater rental

from a company that isn't named

on terms I've never seen

for a length I don't know

with a buyout amount nobody disclosed.

I'm told this holds up from the lawyer I hired to review the APS

So I'm genuinely curious:

→ How does a signed obligation to assume an unnamed contract, on undisclosed terms, survive basic contract principles?

→ Is "you'll find out after closing" actually the standard?

→ And let's name the elephant in the room - builders take a per-home payment from these rental companies. How is that not a conflict that should be disclosed to the buyer?

How, in 2026, Can a buyer can be locked into 10–15 years of payments before anyone tells them who they're paying, how much, or how to get out.

Lawyers, agents, builders, fellow buyers — What am I missing, and has anyone actually pushed back on one of these successfully?

Buying a new construction in Ottawa area. One of the structural upgrades is 200amp service and future ev charger rough in.
The cost for both combined is 5000$( 3500 for 200amp and 1500 for ev rough in)
Is it worth getting it? Or better to get it later
I don’t drive EV but maybe in few years
Not sure
This is a single family detached house
Thanks

I am yet to sign the APS for a 1.12M ready to move-in townhouse in Oakville. The purchase price is net of 130k HST rebate as advertised by the builder. I have also got a conditional approval from a lender for the net price but I don’t qualify for the gross price.

Has anyone recently bought a new build and can confirm whether we get full 130k HST rebate on the SOA from the builder?
I am reading that it might not be the case as it’s subjective and the legislation is not passed so we might end up receiving less amount, but this might be old information.

I would really appreciate if someone can confirm that builders are crediting full rebate now, as advertised!