Minto Kanata | New Homes Sales Centre - Ottawa, Ontario

Emily Anglin

While the home purchase and possession went about as smoothly as could be expected during COVID, issues arising with the home after less than 3 years of ownership warrant a 1-star review. Improper installation of a dryer vent resulted in water entering our home via the roof, a defect that was not apparent until now, when it started seeping through drywall and onto a bedroom carpet—conveniently happening past the Tarion warranty, and resulting in thousands of dollars of damage that we are now responsible to fix. An email to Minto’s warranty team got a response of “that’s not our problem and we’re not doing anything”. Basically, the lack of less than $20 of caulking by the builder in 2021 will now cost us upwards of $6000.

Buyer beware, as you won’t be given a tour of your roof or attic during the final walk-through. If you are already locked in to buying from Minto, pay an independent inspector to go over the house and check all the parts you can’t easily access yourself.

Based on this experience I will never purchase a new Minto home again…which may seem like an idle threat, but given my spouse and I move every 2-4 years for work we buy and sell many more houses than your average couple. Oh well.

Faris Jeshami

Minto building company deals with the worst subcontractor companies ever. I hope the Minto owner sees my review because I will show he/she the many many pictures and emails I sent to the high-level management. I need to ask you, Minto owner, do you have a censorship for customer complaints or NOT?

Can you please contact me? I am waiting for your response.

abhinav diwan

I had an awfully bad experience with the sales team executive. He sounded uninterested right from the beginning and was cold. He unwillingly answered my questions and was in a hurry to hang up.
On asking about reports of numerous delays, he brazenly put the entire blame on Covid and city of Ottawa.
I am a serious buyer who was put away by Minto's sales team.

Jonathon MacDonald

Scott and the sales team at Minto Kanata have been more than helpful with assisting my wife and I with our home purchase. Highly recommend.

Don Mikka

My experience dealing with Minto for upgrades in my townhouse has been beyond annoying. It's absolutely absurd how they continuously shoot down any ideas with silly non-sense excuses, as if certain upgrades are somehow off-limits for townhomes.

- EV Charging System: Despite my willingness to invest in an EV charging system for my garage, Minto flatly denied my request, citing that it's not available for townhouses!! Yes, so what?! What is the issue of making it in a TH, you don't any resoanable answer!

- Kitchen Cabinet Upgrade: Wanting to enhance my kitchen with glass doors/shelves seemed like a reasonable request, one I was more than willing to pay for and i'm 100% sure they have it. However, Minto once again shut down the idea, claiming it's not available for townhouses. What does this has to do anything with Townhouses, again non sense although our TH kitchen size is bigger than most of their 30" singles and even if it's not what the door and shelves have to do with any sizing

- Laundry Room Cabinetry: The lack of cabinetry options in the laundry room was another disappointment. Despite seeing it in their show home, Minto stated that it's no longer offered for my townhouse model due to the size and depth of the laundry space in that model. B.S it done perfectly in the show home, but Minto is just annoying and lazy!

- Mud Room Door Removal: Even something as seemingly simple as removing a door in the mudroom was met with No, there's no option to delete a door in Townhomes. BIG B.S incompetent builder hiring incompetent contractors

You don't get except parrot-like repetition replies that doesn't make sense whether from a design or constuction point of view.

This level of inflexibility is frustrating, especially when someone's willing to pay for modifications to customize their living space. So Minto is not doing this for FREE not it'll cost their contractor any additional effort!

Minto's inflexible policies make the home customization process needlessly difficult and ultimately detract from the overall customer purchase experience.

common man

Frustrating Experience with Minto

I am compelled to express my deep dissatisfaction with the home-building process provided by Minto. The repeated delays in closing at Brookline Kanata have not only caused immense stress but have also highlighted a lack of timely communication and proactive efforts on their part.

Throughout this experience, the builder has failed to provide updates in a timely manner, leaving me in the dark about the status of my new home. The reactive approach taken by Minto has added unnecessary frustration, as issues were addressed only after they became critical, rather than being proactively managed. This has caused both monetary and mental health loss.

Furthermore, the lack of initiative to go above and beyond in ensuring a smooth post-sales experience is disheartening. A sense of urgency and dedication to customer satisfaction seems to be sorely lacking, leaving me questioning the commitment of Minto to delivering a quality product and service.

This ongoing ordeal has not only affected my peace of mind but has also eroded my confidence in the professionalism and competence of Minto. I strongly urge potential homebuyers to thoroughly reconsider before engaging in any business with this builder, as my experience has been far from the smooth and stress-free process one would expect when investing in a new home.

Anila Rajbhandari

Project management and communication skills are very very poor. I would have expected a lot better from Minto representatives.

Our house supposed to have closed Apr 4 earlier this year, but the closing got pushed to Dec 21. We have been very patient for past 2+ years as this is a first phase of Brookline and lots of processes involved and what not. But, how is it fair to give 1 week notice for delayed closing, specially around the time of Holidays? Not to mention the multiple delays over the past 8 months. We never received proactive communication on updates unless we specifically ask for it. Even the updates received were like very vague. Sure, blame on the City for delays of subdivision registration. But were necessary steps taken timely by Minto to make sure that there was enough time to meet the anticipated delays from City, meet the deadline and get everything ready for homeowners to close the house? This not a first ever project for Minto. For a seasoned builder like Minto, they should have been well prepared for anticipated delays from the City. To me that's failure of project management. At least give us 30 days notice if delay is expected. There are lots of planning involved on our end to move to a new house. We have to plan to move out of current place of living, plan for kids schools, plan for getting mortgage, plan for appliances, delivery and lots more. How is 1 week notice sufficient to make decisions?

For all the stress, frustrations and inconvenience caused to us, the best they can do is provide delivery and storage service on top of the delayed compensation incurred by Tarion. Really? This failure to communicate timely has resulted in our family with two kids being homeless for two weeks or more as closing is still not 100% certain. All this at the time of holidays and new year. At the time of holidays, when we should be enjoying time together as family, we are frantically trying to find a temporary place to live.

Although we are happy that the home looks complete, quality of construction is decent, we are very very disappointed with the customer service and lack of understanding of the predicament that they have put us in.

Martins Osuji

I am writing to express my deep dissatisfaction and frustration regarding the continuous delays in the closing of my pre-construction home in the Brookline community, Kanata, built by Minto. The repeated delays and lack of transparency have placed an immense burden on my family, and I am seeking resolution to this matter.

The original closing date set by Minto for our home was November 2022 since we signed the agreement on August 2021. However, the closing has been delayed multiple times, causing significant disruption and inconvenience.

The most recent major delay was communicated just two weeks before the scheduled closing date of December 15, 2023. At the time of the notice, we had made firm commitments to move, consequently, we had no place to stay for the holidays. The delay was attributed to issues with the land registration process, and they made it seem like it would be resolved in a matter of days. Consequently, my family was forced to make abrupt arrangements for temporary accommodation, incurring substantial daily rental costs.

The closing has been delayed again, not once but five times since the initial setback on December 15th, 2023. Despite the persistence of these delays, we have not been provided with a firm closing date. The uncertainty surrounding our move-in date is causing severe discomfort and distress.

Minto has consistently shifted blame onto the city for these delays. However, communication from the city contradicts this, asserting that Minto is at fault due to a failure to complete specific technical mandatory items, particularly easement requirements. This lack of transparency and accountability is unacceptable.

Living out of suitcases for an extended period has resulted in extreme discomfort for my family. The financial strain from daily rental costs and the impact on our mental and emotional well-being cannot be overstated. Our interest rates are also at risk due to this prolonged situation.

I am formally submitting a complaint and requesting urgent resolution to this matter. My family, along with others in similar situations, has endured significant hardships due to these delays. I kindly request Minto to:

- Provide a firm and realistic closing date.

- Offer compensation for the financial burden, stress, and emotional hardship imposed on my family.

- Improve communication regarding the progress and challenges in the closing process.