The Adjustment Sheet Arrived Days Before Closing. The Number Was Not What They Signed For

I have seen it happen more than once. Buyers are days away from closing on a new build they have been waiting years for. Then the Statement of Adjustments arrives and there is a charge on it they have never seen before. Sometimes it is a few thousand dollars. Sometimes it is much more. And the question is always the same: can they actually do this?

In most cases, the buyers go quiet. They feel stuck. They have already given notice at their rental. They have movers booked. They figure fighting it is too complicated and too risky. So they pay it and move on feeling like something was taken from them.

A group of buyers in Mississauga decided not to go quiet. They went to court. And they won. Here is what happened, why it matters, and what it means before you sign a new build agreement anywhere in Ontario.

What Happened

The Bellisario buyers purchased units in a townhouse development called Clarkson Urban Towns, in Mississauga. Purchase prices ranged from $400,000 to $700,000. The agreements were signed before construction was complete, which is standard for pre-construction in Ontario.

A few days before the scheduled closing dates, the developer delivered final Statements of Adjustment. These statements included charges labeled as Utility Meter Installation Charges covering electrical, gas, water, sanitary, and permits and fees. But the charges did not just cover meter installation. They also included amounts the developer had paid to contractors, trades, construction management, and landscaping. In some cases, the additional amount added at closing reached $86,000 per unit. The buyers closed as required but immediately challenged the charges in court.

What the Court Decided

The Ontario Superior Court sided with the buyers. The application judge reviewed the specific language in the Agreements of Purchase and Sale and found that the developer was only permitted to charge buyers for two things: the cost of installing meters for the services in their individual units, and infrastructure costs paid to the municipality or to an actual utility service provider.

What the developer had done was charge buyers for costs paid to private contractors and trades, which the court found was not authorized by the APS at all. The court also rejected the developer’s argument that a Certificate it had provided was conclusive proof of what was owed. The judge was clear that a Certificate can be challenged with other evidence and does not override what the contract actually says. The court further found that the developer had acted in bad faith and held the limitation of liability clause in the APS unenforceable on public policy grounds. The matter was sent to a future hearing to determine the exact refunds owed to each buyer.

What This Means When You Are Buying a New Build in Ontario

Closing adjustments are a standard part of any new build transaction. They exist to balance the books at closing on things that were prepaid or calculated as of that date, such as property taxes, condo fees, utility connections, and TARION warranty enrolment. In a pre-construction deal, some of those numbers are not known until construction is finished and closing is near. That is normal and expected.

What is not normal, and not legal, is a developer using that adjustment process to pass along construction costs that were never disclosed in the APS.

Most buyers assume that whatever shows up on the Statement of Adjustments is legitimate just because the developer put it there. Actually, the Statement of Adjustments is not proof of anything. It reflects what the developer says it is owed. Whether those amounts are actually permitted depends entirely on what the Agreement of Purchase and Sale says.

That distinction matters enormously. A Statement of Adjustments is not a final invoice you are required to accept. It is a starting point that has to be reconciled against the contract.

Here is the thing: by the time the adjustment sheet arrives, most buyers have already packed their lives. The pressure to close is real. That is exactly when reading carefully matters most.

Before you sign a new build Agreement of Purchase and Sale, these are the questions worth asking your real estate lawyer:

• What closing adjustments does this APS specifically permit?
• Are there any open-ended clauses that allow the developer to add charges without a defined cap?
• What is the estimated range of adjustments based on this contract?
• If a charge appears at closing that is not clearly authorized here, what is our recourse?
• Does the TARION Addendum override any limitation of liability clause in this agreement?

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a closing adjustment in a new build?

A closing adjustment is an amount added to or subtracted from the balance due at closing to account for prepaid costs or amounts calculated as of the closing date. Common adjustments in new builds include property taxes, utility connections, and TARION warranty enrolment. They are standard, but they have to be authorized by the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.

Can I refuse to close if I disagree with a closing adjustment?

This is a legal question that depends on the specific terms of your APS and the circumstances. In the Bellisario case, the buyers closed as scheduled and then challenged the charges through the courts. Refusing to close carries its own risks, including potential loss of deposit. Your real estate lawyer needs to advise you on this based on your specific situation.

What is the TARION Addendum and why does it matter?

Every new home purchase in Ontario must include a TARION Addendum, which sets out mandatory protections for buyers under the New Home Warranties Plan Act. If a clause in your APS conflicts with the TARION Addendum, the Addendum governs. The court in Bellisario found that the developer’s limitation of liability clause was unenforceable partly because it conflicted with the TARION Addendum.

What I Have Seen in Deals Like This

This case did not surprise me. I have sat with buyers in Brampton and Mississauga who called me after receiving a Statement of Adjustments with a number they were not expecting. The adjustment sheet arrives, the amount is significant, and the instinct is to assume there is nothing they can do. That instinct costs people money. The conversations I have before buyers sign are the ones that matter most. Understanding what the adjustment section actually authorizes, and what questions to ask before you commit, is the whole game in pre-construction. The buyers who come in having asked those questions are a different kind of buyer at closing.

The GTA Reality

The Clarkson Urban Towns development at the centre of this case is a Mississauga project. That matters. This is not a distant ruling from a jurisdiction that works differently than ours. It is a decision that came out of a pre-construction transaction in this market, under the same contract conditions GTA buyers sign every day. The final number at closing can move. Knowing what is permitted to move it is not optional knowledge.

Bottom Line

A developer cannot use closing adjustments to recover costs that are not clearly authorized by the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. The Bellisario case makes that rule explicit. The buyers who pushed back and went to court did not just protect themselves. They created a record that helps every buyer in Ontario who signs a new build agreement after them.

Before you sign, have your lawyer review the adjustment provisions. Understand exactly what is permitted. And if something shows up at closing that does not match, you have the right to question it.

This post is a summary of a court decision for educational purposes and is not legal advice. Buyers should review their Agreement of Purchase and Sale with a real estate lawyer before closing.

References

1. Bellisario et al. v. 2200 Bromsgrove Development Inc., 2025 ONSC 2546: https://canlii.ca/t/kbrhd