New Home Warranty – what is it?

A New Home Warranty is in a majority of cases a 10 year Insurance Guarantee for newly built or converted properties.

It is Insurance to cover the structure of the property, which includes foundations, ceilings, floors, staircases, walls, roofs and roof coverings plus a number of other main parts to the property.  You should however carefully read the Insurance Booklet provided by the Insurance Provider which will detail the full extent of what is covered.  Usual wear and tear, cracking or failure to properly maintain your property are not covered under the Guarantee.

Some policies will, in fact, start from exchange of contracts where any deposit paid to a builder is protected.  For others, the 10 year Guarantee starts from the actual date of completion.

For the first 2 years following completion, should there be any defects requiring repair, these should be referred back to the builder.  If for any reason the builder fails to rectify the defects, the Insurance Provider can be contacted to assist in the works being completed as quickly as possible.  The Insurance Provider would usually be the point of contact for years 3 to 10 until the Insurance Guarantee expires.

In addition to the Insurance Guarantee covering the structural parts of the property, it also covers issues such as contaminated land and building control.

Once you have completed the purchase of your new home, your solicitor should provide you with the 10 year Insurance Guarantee (Warranty) along with booklets from the Insurance Provider which will provide full details of what is covered along with what you should go should a claim need to be made.

If you are looking to buy a new build property we can help, call 01206 700113 or email us [email protected] or get a quote here.