This Ontario complex was built in 2017 — a third of its townhomes have had water problems

Six months after Simon Huo bought his newly built townhouse in July 2017, news of water problems began to trickle in. Before long, it turned out to be more of a gusher affecting him and dozens of his neighbours. 

The townhouse complex is off Sarnia Road, just east of Hyde Park Road. Huo’s is one of 161 attached units in the complex built by Rand Developments.

Branded “Tribeca,” the attached townhouses are packed together on narrow streets with New York-inspired names such Battery Park and Manhattan Way. The design is modern, featuring a multi-toned mix of metal and brick exterior finishes. 

“It was brand new, so you don’t expect problems,” said Huo of his townhouse, which is on a street called West Village Square.

Like many of the buyers in the complex, Huo rented out his townhouse after he bought it, although he’s living in it now. 

In January 2018, his tenant sent him photos of water seeping behind the baseboard under the front window of the second-floor bedroom. 

Huo said Rand responded and made repairs to the roof. The baseboard was replaced and reports from the tenant about water problems stopped.  

In the fall of 2021, his tenant left and Huo moved in. He soon noticed water damage on the new baseboard in the same spot. He paid to have a roofer fix the issue, but said the water infiltration problems continued to mount over the months and years. They included a leak in the en suite bathroom ceiling.

Huo cut away the wall board beneath the front window in his second-floor bedroom to expose the source of the leak. There was extensive water damage and the 2-by-6 framing members were blackened and crumbling. A video Huo shared with CBC News shows water pooling inside the wall.

Huo also hired Neil Travis of Keystone Properties to investigate the roof and fix the problem. 

CBC News interviewed Travis, who said the problems included: 

When asked by CBC News to assess the roof installation overall, Travis was blunt, saying: “It’s pretty shitty.” 

CBC News made multiple requests for comment from Rand and the company’s founder and owner, Randy Mackay, but did not receive a reply.

While he continued to deal with problems in his townhouse this spring, Huo began to reach out to neighbours in the complex. He said he took this step because he started to notice others were hiring roofers to fix leaks.

Huo sent a survey in a Google document to the owners of all 161 units, asking them to fill it in and describe any water problems and their efforts to get them fixed. CBC News has reviewed the responses. In total, 53 report some kind of water infiltration problem, including water seeping through ceilings, water-stained and blistering drywall, even electrical circuit breakers tripping after water in the walls contacted live outlets. 

Some of the respondents said Rand made efforts to fix the problems. Others, however, claimed the company has been difficult to reach and unresponsive to their complaints. 

Many owners said their walls, carpets and ceilings regularly become wet during heavy rains.

Last winter’s heavy snows and subsequent ice damming were also frequently mentioned as moments when water leaked or seeped into the living spaces. 

Arsalan Saleem, 35, was among the dozens of neighbours who responded to Huo’s survey. 

A busy professional with two young children, Saleem was expecting to avoid major maintenance bills when he became a first-time homebuyer. He paid $430,000 for the house on Tribeca Lane in September 2020. 

At the time, the house was only three years old, so he didn’t expect to see any roofing problems, but soon noticed his neighbours were having issues. 

“Right after we moved in, we saw contractors working on the roofs right in front on my house,” he said. “Then I started noticing more people getting work done. Then came my turn.” 

A year after he moved in, Saleem said, he noticed water leaking into his daughter’s bedroom during a thunderstorm. The water filled up the ceiling light like a fish bowl, eventually dripping down and soaking the carpet, he said. 

Having a water-filled electrical fixture in his daughter’s bedroom was particularly unnerving.

“As a new homeowner, that was scary.” 

He moved his daughter out of the room and hired a roofer, who pointed to exposed nail heads as likely leak points. 

“He said it was a bad roofing job,” said Saleem. 

Between the roof and another water penetration problem on a front window, Saleem said he’s out about $2,000.

CBC News visited the complex this week and spoke to more than a dozen tenants and homeowners.

One man, who declined to be interviewed, told CBC News he paid $12,000 to have his entire roof replaced. Four others said they’ve experienced leaks, but they were renting the unit and reported the issues to their landlords. 

Ontario’s Tarion Warranty Program is intended to protect new-home buyers in the event of various defects. Its coverage includes major water penetration, however the coverage expires after seven years.

CBC News contacted Tarion for comment about the Sarnia Road townhouses built by Rand.

In a statement, Tarion called it “a complex situation,” but said it received no complaints about the townhouses in the Tribeca complex during the seven-year coverage period.

Despite this, Tarion said it has been working to help the homeowners and encourage the builder to address issues. 

“At this time, we understand that the builder is working actively with the homeowners to try to resolve the problems,” the statement said. “We understand that the homeowners are in a difficult situation, but are encouraged by the builder’s response and shows that this builder is willing to try to address matters even beyond its statutory obligation.”

Huo, who estimates he’s out about $4,000 in repairs, argues the problems at his complex are so extensive that Tarion has an obligation to step in and extend the coverage period. He said he wasn’t aware of the Tarion program until it was too late. 

“This issue is from construction, from the beginning of the house — it should be covered,” he said.