The Ontario government is considering possible actions in response to a “very disturbing trend” of cancelling new home contracts, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark says.

Premier Doug Ford vowed in November that he would stop developers from trying to increase profits by demanding extra money or tearing up the purchase agreement, but some homebuyers are currently facing that choice, he said.

“Some for legitimate reasons but others for clearly unethical ones,” the minister said Tuesday. “This is unfair, it’s wrong and we are actively working to stop it from happening again. We unequivocally expect all builders to operate in a professional manner, honesty and integrity towards consumers.”

Clark told a meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) that the government has strengthened the regulatory tools available to it to address bad builder behavior including heftier fines.

“On top of all that, we’re protecting consumers by ensuring that deposits they put down for pre-construction condominiums are returned with interest at the Bank of Canada rate in case a project is cancelled,” he said.

Clark told the municipal leaders that the province is focused on building more housing to meet demand and intends to work cooperatively with local governments to achieve that goal.

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