This company isn't licensed to build in Ontario. Why is it advertising home projects under construction?
Ontario’s regulator is investigating Sunrise Homes and Rozhina Development Group
A Mississauga man who lost his $30,000 down payment in a failed development project last year says he's shocked to see the project being revived by the same managers at a different unlicensed company.
Faran Haq lost his investment when the Stayner Trails project in Stayner, Ont. — which was being developed by Sunrise Homes Ltd. — went into receivership in October 2024.
Now that same project, along with two other Sunrise projects, are listed as "coming soon" or "under construction" on the website of a company called Rozhina Development Group.
According to Rozhina's website, it merged with Sunrise Homes, and the two share the same core leadership, projects, and even the same office location.
The companies are different in one critical way: Sunrise held some licences to build and sell homes in Ontario while it operated independently. Rozhina, on the other hand, is completely unlicensed — calling into question how it could ever complete the Stayner Trails development.
The murky situation has left Haq feeling skeptical and angry.
"I personally think it's a gimmick," said Haq. "I think they're just trying to go around the rules."
'A complete lack of respect for the law'
Last fall, CBC Toronto reported on the many issues facing Sunrise Homes.
Not only had some of the company's projects entered receivership, putting Haq and 116 other Stayner Trails homebuyers out of millions of dollars, its director admitted to CBC Toronto it had been building and selling homes without the necessary approvals for 15 years.
The company has also been accused of misappropriation of funds.
Ontario's Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA) launched an investigation, ultimately finding that Sunrise showed "a complete lack of respect for the law" and moving to revoke the licences for three of its interconnected corporations.
The company has appealed that decision to the Licence Appeal Tribunal, and the case is set to be heard in July.
The HCRA also tells the CBC it continues to investigate Sunrise for other wrongdoing.
Rozhina holds no provincial licences
In the months since the HCRA crackdown on Sunrise, both projects and leadership associated with the company have migrated to the Rozhina Development Group website.
Sajjad Hussain and Muzammil Kodwavi, who served as Sunrise Homes' co-directors, are now listed as Rozhina's CEO and COO, respectively, though Rozhina has existed since 2016.
Two of the Sunrise Homes projects in Barrie that the regulator is taking action against have popped up on the site as "under construction," along with the Stayner Trails project. Some of Sunrise's past projects are also now listed as "completed."
That's despite the fact that Rozhina is not licensed to build or sell homes in Ontario.
"Rozhina Development does not have any ongoing projects, approved land, or active sales offices that would necessitate licensing," said company spokesperson Sara S. Avini in a statement.
Instead, Avini says Rozhina is solely focused on "land banking" for future developments, conflicting with marketing claims on its website. Following questions from the CBC, the Rozhina Development Group website added a disclaimer saying that they are "neither a builder nor a developer."
Avini wrote that the online posts about completed and in progress developments were "meant to communicate our vision and aspirations."
Letter to Stayner Trails homebuyers
Reviving the Stayner Trails project is one of those aspirations, but the details and feasibility remain unclear.
Faran Haq, along with the 116 other buyers of the project, were sent an email in late January from Sunrise telling them that Rozhina had bought parcels of lands within "walking distance" of the original project's site.
The companies were going to "explore ways to transfer your deposit to one of the projects or another viable option within [Rozhina Development Group's] portfolio," the letter said.
"This seems like just another last ditch effort to continue business and continue to make a little bit more money," said Haq.
Avini says Rozhina plans to acquire the Stayner Trails land, but did not respond to multiple requests from the CBC to clarify the actual planned location of the development or who would be responsible for building it.
Rozhina CEO Sajjad Hussain declined to comment after being reached on the phone by the CBC, and e-mails to COO Muzammil Kodwavi went unreturned. The initial statement from Rozhina's spokesperson said it spoke for the two men.
Rozhina being investigated by regulator
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery told the CBC that the Home Construction Regulatory Authority was created to protect new home buyers — and that all builders and vendors need to be licensed by them.
"Illegal building puts consumers at risk and results in an uneven playing field for builders who build and sell homes in accordance with the law," the spokesperson said.
For its part, Rozhina is now also being investigated by the HCRA, which can't comment because the matter is ongoing, a spokesperson said. The company is not currently facing any charges.
But real estate lawyer Bob Aaron says that he expects the regulator to intervene with the company before it can go further with its projects.
"They shouldn't be building, they shouldn't be marketing … they have a bad track record," he told CBC Toronto.
"They could be charged with a violation of the [New Home Construction Licensing] Act and that violation could result in huge fines and even jail terms," said Aaron.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it happened in this case."
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