The City of Calgary has laid 51 charges against Dhaliwal Homes Ltd., its sole director and two agents for not complying with provincial building safety codes and the city’s land use bylaw.
Forty-nine of the 51 charges were laid against the company for allegedly violating the Safety Codes Act of Alberta. An additional two charges were laid for allegedly violating the city’s land use bylaw under the Municipal Government Act.
The charges come after a three-month investigation by Calgary Building Services related to two semi-detached homes in the city.
Investigators say the company built the homes without a municipal building permit for both homes and the detached garages, built the homes without necessary safety code inspections, and knowingly submitted false and misleading information in relation to permits and inspections.
“Building safety violations pose a serious risk to homeowners and the community at large,” building safety manager Cliff de Jong said in a Wednesday press release.
“The seriousness and magnitude of these violations and the impact to unsuspecting potential buyers in this red-hot real estate market led the City of Calgary to conduct an investigation and lay charges.”
Global News reached out to the director of Dhaliwal Homes Ltd., who did not want to discuss the allegations.
Shameer Gaidhar is a homebuilder with Millenium Plus Homes and chair of the Calgary Inner City Builders Association (CICBA).
Gaidhar said this could be a serious issues for a potential home buyer.
“Makes me uncomfortable. That’s not right and fair, not fair to home buyers or industry or competitors and colleagues doing that,” Gaidhar said.
“There’s a lot of competition out there. It doesn’t negate the fact you have to do research because you still have rights as a buyer.”
If found guilty of Alberta Safety Codes violations, Dhaliwal Homes Ltd. and the people involved can be fined up to $100,000 per offence and a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months.
They can also face a maximum fine of $10,000 and imprisonment not exceeding one year if found guilty of bylaw infractions.
The matter is now before the Provincial Court of Alberta in Calgary.
“The City of Calgary has zero tolerance for this type of building safety violation and will pursue charges when developers do not comply with the safety requirements outlined in the Safety Codes Act.
“The City of Calgary’s position is to ensure compliance, to protect the public and mitigate building safety issues,” de Jong said.
— with files from Jill Croteau, Global News.