Family homes endorsed by Mike Holmes, Canadian writer, producer and celebrity handyman, have been condemned as unsafe and torn down in scenic southern Georgian Bay.

Tarion, Ontario’s regulator for new homes, has ordered three modern homes in the TerraceWood subdivision in Meaford, Ont. torn down. In a 2021 lawsuit obtained by CBC, Tarion claims 14 TerraceWoods houses were inadequately built, with mold from water leaks, major structural problems and other safety issues listed.

The $8 million lawsuit names more than a dozen parties involved in the TerraceWood project between 2015 and 2019. That includes the builder, Third Line Homes, the municipality of Meaford and The Holmes Group.

National Post has reached out to Holmes, who is a syndicated columnist featured in this paper’s Home section.

Buyers said they assumed the inspections were a given.

“It was one of the sales pitches,” Andrea Hart, who vacated her home for a year while repairs were made, told CBC.

“You feel that if it’s Holmes approved, that it’s most likely something that you can put your money on,” said Fayard Johnson, who also moved out of his home for more than a year while major repairs were made, including the replacing of a beam that held second floor, which was of the wrong size.

Holmes reportedly posed in front of that very house and flashed a thumbs up during a promotional photo in 2016.

The lawsuit also says Third Line Homes were misrepresented as competent builders. M. Holmes Holdings Ltd., which Holmes heads, provided Third Line two mortgages totalling $390,000 at 10 per cent interest in order to buy 25 plots for TerraceWood. Third Line Homes dissolved in 2019.

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