Broker Claude Boiron of Royal LePage Terrequity Realty in Toronto is offering to help clients with their bad plumbing.
Boiron is known for coming up with a variety of promotions, including a video of his eight-year-old daughter Belle showing a house. He’s also the author of two real estate books.
His most recent offer launched in mid-September, focussing on the Kitec Plumbing recall.
If you sell your condo using The Boiron Group and commit to buying another home with them, Boiron’s company will cover the cost to replace faulty Kitec plumbing. Homeowners must assign their right to submit a claim to, and receive compensation from, the Kitec Settlement. Full details are available on his “Kitec Crusader” website at www.kiteccrusader.ca. There is also a link to the Kitec company’s settlement agreement and forms, for owners who wish to apply for the funds themselves.
Introduced to the market in 1995, Kitec offered an economical and attractive alternative to copper piping. It is made of flexible, plastic-wrapped aluminium. The fittings are made of zinc and copper.
Over time the materials in the plumbing have been reported to degrade. Leaks and burst pipes are reported, especially with water over 77 C. These defects became so far-reaching that Kitec created a $125-million US settlement fund for repairs or reimbursement. The deadline to claim any funds is Jan. 9, 2020 or if the fund runs out sooner.
“I heard about Kitec from clients and Realtors a few times in recent years,” says Boiron. “Then in early 2017 it really started snowballing. I heard about it as often as a dozen times a month. People who bought condos would complain that they had Kitec plumbing, and now the condo board said it had to be replaced as a preventative measure.”
He says, “When you buy a condo as opposed to a house, one reason is that a condo is supposed to be relatively maintenance free. You might have to deal with roofing every 15 to 25 years. But otherwise, you would expect your monthly condo fee to cover anything else. Suddenly condo owners were being asked to come up with thousands of dollars in a short amount of time.”
For condo owners to pay an extra $5,000 to $10,000 to their condo board within 30 to 60 days was a real hardship. Because the pipes affected were coming into units in apartments and condos, most condo boards were not legally responsible for the repairs. However, many boards wanted their homeowners to install replacements throughout entire buildings as a preventative move before a pipe leaked, rather than handling damage control after.
“One woman called me and she was saying that she might have to sell her condo because she didn’t know how she could afford to pay that much at once. It was unbelievable, the stories of people so frustrated and afraid,” says Boiron.
You can identify Kitec plumbing by its bright colours – orange or red for hot water lines, blue for cold water. It has also been manufactured in yellow, grey, white and black. When looking for Kitec plumbing you may find it near hot water tanks and under sinks. Kitec is also a component of in-floor heating. Buildings affected include condos, apartments, detached houses and commercial properties.
Yvonne Dick is a contributing writer for REM with two decades of experience in journalism.
