Karen Somerville, President, Canadians for Properly Built Homes

CPBH Celebrates Its Third Anniversary!

This month marks Canadians for Properly Built Homes’ (CPBH) third anniversary, and provides a natural time to take stock.  In three short years, CPBH has experienced much success.  Consumers from many parts of Canada contact CPBH to ask for guidance related to problems with their builder and their warranty provider in relation to construction defects in their home.  CPBH enjoys considerable grass roots support from across Canada from many homeowners, and potential homeowners.  As well, many professionals working in the home inspection industry, the home construction industry, and government officials have advised that they recognize the need for an organization such as CPBH, and have expressed their support for CPBH and its work.

CPBH representatives have appeared on television, for instance, CTV’s W-Five, as well as a variety of appearances on local news broadcasts on CBC and CTV, and radio talk show programs such as Peter Warren’s program from Victoria, BC.  Articles written by CPBH representatives have been published in national magazines such as The Canadian Home Inspector and Real Estate Marketing.  Numerous newspaper articles have referenced the work of CPBH, including the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and the Ottawa Citizen, which, in a Sept. 2006 article, referred to the CPBH web-site (www.canadiansforproperlybuilthomes.com ) as “among the most consulted real estate websites in Canada”.  Further, a number of different organizations seek the input from CPBH as government programs are developed. CPBH was recently advised by the Federal Minister of Health, Minister Clement, that it will be contacted in the near future to provide input relating to the Clean Air Act.  As well, a CPBH representative recently participated as an expert on a national round table relating to indoor air quality.  In addition, CPBH recently made presentations to officials with Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada in relation to energy efficiency issues and opportunities in newly built homes. CPBH also received key campaign promises from the Conservative Party of Canada prior to the Jan. 2006 federal election, and is very pleased to see the federal government moving forward to keep these campaign promises.

We are very proud of the extraordinarily talented and experienced people who give of their time to volunteer with CPBH. Our Advisors and Board members have diverse backgrounds including the following professions: architecture, engineering, home building, home inspection, real estate, home renovation, environmental medicine, industrial hygiene, fire safety, insurance, law, academe, political science and business.  CPBH has more than 40 volunteers in different parts of Canada, and we are very grateful for the work and dedication of each and every CPBH volunteer.

CPBH is the only organization of its kind in Canada.  Those who are aware of CPBH’s work and results to date agree that we have made great progress during this short time.    In a country as large as Canada, establishing a national, not for profit organization that is operated exclusively with volunteers is no easy feat.  We have done that, and have quickly become recognized as Canada’s national voice of consumers in relation to homes.  But, unfortunately, given the serious construction defects facing many home purchasers in many parts of Canada, the work of CPBH has only just begun. 

Information is important, so you are encouraged to share your successes, challenges views and ideas: Contact us at info@canadiansforproperlybuilthomes.com . You are also encouraged to sign up for our free electronic newsletter to hear about future developments.  Newsletter registration information is on the home page of this web-site.