All Albertans who buy a new home will have warranty coverage for their purchase under new legislation proposed by the Alberta government.
Bill 5, the New Home Buyer Protection Act, introduced in the legislature recently, requires builders to provide home warranty coverage for all new homes built in the province starting in fall 2013.
“While most homes in Alberta are built to stand the test of time, if things do go wrong, homeowners will have stronger protection to get their homes repaired,” said Municipal Affairs Minister Doug Griffiths.
Under the proposed legislation, all new homes (detached homes and condominiums) would at minimum, include a warranty for:
• one year labour and materials;
• two years for defects in labour and materials related to delivery and distribution systems;
• five years building envelope protection, with a requirement for the warranty provider to offer the consumer the option to purchase additional years of coverage; and,
• 10 years coverage for major structural components.
It is expected that the new home warranty would cost about $1,700 to $2,000 for an average home or less than one per cent of the cost of the average house.