Understanding Basic Condominium & Home Warranty
Alberta’s New Home Buyer Protection Act, which was effective February 2014, requires that new homes have home warranty insurance coverage to ensure that homebuyers receive mandated protections which provides accountability and peace of mind. All home warranty insurance products stay with the home and not with the prior homeowner, should you sell your property.
The program, the Alberta New Home Warranty Program (ANHWP) supported by Alberta’s builders are listed on its site: https://anhwp.com
One Year – Material & Labour
Coverage for defects in materials and labour including baseboards, flooring and trim
Two Years – Delivery & Distribution Systems
Coverage for defects in materials and labour related to delivery and distribution systems including heating, electrical and plumbing
Five Years – Building Envelope
Coverage for defects in the system of components that separate the conditioned space from unconditioned space including roof and exterior walls.
Ten Years – Structural
Coverage for the load-bearing parts of the home including the frame and foundation Optional additional two-year building envelope coverage protects the property owner from defects in your home’s building envelope for two years over and above the mandatory five-year coverage, extending the coverage period to a maximum of seven years from the commencement date. Your homebuilder may opt for this coverage at the time of the project application. There are warrantee insurance coverage limits including covering reasonable living expenses if your new home is uninhabitable due to a defect or while the remediation of a defect in underway. Please refer to your specific policy for coverage details and eligibilities.
Warranty Insurance Coverage Limits – as published on anhwp.com – August 31, 2020
For a single-family home: the lesser of the original purchase price (excluding land) and $265,000.
For a multi-family unit registered under a condominium plan: the lesser of the original purchase price and $130,000.
For common warrantable property in a multi-family building or for the property for which a condominium corporation is responsible under its bylaws: $130,000 times the number of multi-family units in the building to a maximum of $3,300,000 per building.
For a non-condominium multi-family unit (for example, a duplex unit or row townhome with no common warrantable property): the lesser of the purchase price and $265,000.
