In a statement released Thursday, the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) shared it has blocked Muhammad Mohsin Babar, a former director of Albion Building Consultant Inc., from obtaining a new building licence and operating under a different name.
The Toronto-based builder has a long history of illegal homebuilding activity and was involved in the HCRA’s largest investigation to date in September 2024, resulting in 127 charges laid. Thursday marks the second someone with links to Albion have applied for a new licence under a new name, the previous one being in March 2024 under Dynasty Home Builders Inc.
This time, the HCRA uncovered the ploy during a vetting process which revealed the builder's "extensive history of illegal activities," despite Babar applying for the new licence under a numbered company, 9618759 Canada Inc.
“The HCRA is proactively protecting home buyers by denying licences to individuals who are not qualified, which means they can’t legally interact with, sell to, or build for consumers,” said Wendy Moir, the HCRA’s Chief Executive Officer and Registrar in a press release. "[...] We will continue to identify bad actors, rooting out schemes or fronts they may try to hide behind. We don’t allow individuals to hide behind numbered companies — we focus on identifying who is truly in control of the application.”
STOREYS contacted Babar for comment but has not received a response as of the time of publishing.
The HCRA first ran into troubles with the developer in 2022 when Albion failed to enrol homes it had built in Tarion, a consumer protection organization tasked by the government of Ontario with administering the province’s new home warranty program. In total, Albion failed to enrol 11 new homes with the Tarion warranty program and was sentenced to a fine of $206,250 by the Ontario Court of Justice.
Prior to that, a company described by the HCRA as a "predecessor" to Albion was convicted of constructing homes without registering as a builder and for failing to enrol new homes with Tarion in 2016 and 2019. In light of its history of illegal homebuilding activity, the HCRA revoked Albion's building license in February 2023 — the first time the authority had done so since its creation in 2021.
Then, last March, the HCRA discovered the builder had commenced building homes without a licence and was accepting “substantial payments” on the sale of those homes and, in turn, froze all of Albion's assets in order to protect buyers' deposits.
But it doesn't end there.
During the investigation into Albion's illegal building in February 2024, the HCRA obtained evidence of "illegal building and selling, failure to enrol homes, failure to comply with conditions, and being a party to an offence," according to a news release from the authority. The findings were shared in September 2024, when the HCRA charged Albion and five business associates related to the construction of 40 new homes on 127 offences.
In regards to the builder's latest attempt to register under a new company name, the HCRA says "A builder’s licence issued by the HCRA demonstrates to consumers that the builder meets high standards for competency and professional conduct. The HCRA will not tolerate any attempt to skirt those rules.”
Babar did not appeal the HCRA’s decision to refuse his licence application.
