Home Condition and Hazards

What Ontario tenant insurance covers, whether your landlord can require it under the standard lease, what it costs and how to choose a policy.

What home insurance really costs in Toronto and Ontario, where the averages come from, why premiums are rising and how to lower yours.

Your basement flooded. Here is what to do in the first 48 hours in Toronto: safety, 311, insurance, cleanup and the City subsidy.

What each shoreline structure does and fails at, why vertical walls worsen erosion, what permits require, why the owner pays, and how to read a wall.

Twelve checks in the order that saves money: authority mapping, survey, title, permits, insurance, engineering, zoning, heritage, neighbours, conditions.

Standard home insurance excludes flooding. What overland water cover is, why 850,000 homes cannot get it, the federal program, and what to do before waiving.

Owned versus leased systems, net metering, contracts that transfer with the house, and what buyers ask about solar. A practical guide for Ontario sellers and buyers.

Rented water heaters, furnaces and ACs are common in Ontario homes. How the contract transfers, what a buyer can refuse, and how to clear anything registered on title.

Inspections are visual and limited. What’s excluded, which specialists to bring in, and how to use the report without over-trusting it.

Where mould shows up in older Toronto houses and condos, what a home inspection can and can’t tell you, what sellers must disclose, and how to fix the cause.