Albertans who buy new homes will have mandatory warranty coverage under new legislation. The New Home Buyer Protection Act requires builders to provide home warranty coverage for all new homes. Soon, mandatory New Home Warranty coverage similar to Alberta’s will be mandated in Manitoba and BC. Saskatchewan is also considering legislating mandatory New Home Warranty coverage.
Mandatory Home Warranty – in Brief
- One year labour and materials.
- Two years for defects in labour and materials.
- Five years building envelope protection, with a requirement for the warranty provider to offer the consumer the option to purchase additional 2 years coverage.
- Definition of a Building Envelope: The separator between interior and exterior environments of buildings i.e.: walls, floors and roofs. Serves as the outer shell that maintains a desired indoor environment and facilitates the buildings climate control.
- 10 years coverage for major structural components
*** The 5 Year Building Envelope Warranty covers defects in the building envelope including defects that permits unintended water penetration such that it causes, or is likely to cause, material damage to the new home.
What Home Owners Must Know about Mold
Mold strikes fear into the hearts of home owners who’ve heard or encountered the horror of toxic mold, expensive mold remediation, and denied home owners insurance claims. Mold growth happens when the presence of persistent moisture goes undetected or unresolved. Because of the new mandatory home warranty program, builders will be very careful to choose building materials that do not absorb moisture or promote or support mold growth. Having a moisture related issue in a basement is a problem – having to rip the basement apart and replace everything because moisture caused mold and rotting is extremely expensive. Learn More
Whether mold damage is covered by home owners insurance generally comes down to the source of moisture and the type of materials used to construct your new home. Take an hour or two to review and understand the language in your policy.
BEST Building Envelope Insurance
Mold can hide in and behind walls for a long time without being noticed. So long in fact, it’s possible your building envelope insurance coverage may expire before you realize your new home has been invaded by toxic mold! The best way to guarantee NO Mold in your new home is to utilize mold resistant building products and systems such as the Quik-Therm Concrete Basement Insulation. Quik-Therm does not absorb moisture and will not promote mold growth. Learn More
Insulation Warranties
A product warranty is a testament to the confidence a manufacturer has in its product(s). Which of the following warranty statements suggests quality and confidence – Lifetime Transferrable Warranty or Limited Lifetime Warranty? Words like “Limited” should be a red flag. “Limited” means the warranty is “restricted” i.e.: the warranty doesn’t cover all that it should, for the life cycle of the product. In other words, the insulation manufacturer knows its product is vulnerable and may not live up to advertised claims.
Choosing the right insulation the first time is a big deal. It’s best to know in advance what an insulation warranty really covers. When insulation fails, and needs to be replaced, the price of the insulation is inconsequential compared to the total cost of reconstruction.
Best Basement Insulation Warranty
