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An Ottawa retiree is furious that a Stittsville condo she purchased and was supposed to have moved into last July is still not built and likely won’t be finished until September.

In the meantime, Susan Tomac-Brennan is renting a room in a friend’s basement and has been unable sign a lease for better accommodation. All the while, the cost of her storage locker keeps mounting.

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But while the builder has made and then broken promises, Phoenix Homes hasn’t broke any rules. Despite 15 months of delays, there is little Tomac-Brennan can do. Her experience is a cautionary tale of the pitfalls that can occur when buying a new condo.

Tomac-Brennan’s house sold in March 2017 — on the day she listed it — after she received assurance from her realtor that the new condo was on target for completion on July 11, 2017.

Three weeks later, in a letter dated April 7, 2017, she got her first bit of bad news. Her new condo wouldn’t be ready until Nov. 8, 2017. “We find ourselves requiring the extra time to complete your home with the care and attention we have committed to providing by your previous closing date,” said the letter, signed by Rahul Kochar, director of sales and marketing for Phoenix.