Don’t get caught by surprise! Make sure you know everything there is to know about your home’s ‘2-5-10’ warranty coverage

Is your new home covered by the ‘2-5-10’ New Home Warranty program? If so, are you aware of the important dates and deadlines that come with it?

‘2-5-10’ refers to:

  • Construction defects and BC Building Code violations – under a 2-year warranty
  • Water leakage from outside (basement, roof, exterior walls, windows, and doors) – under a 5-year warranty
  • Major structural defects – under a 10-year warranty

That being said, the deadlines that often get overlooked are the 12-month and 15-month warranties.

All new detached homes and strata units have coverage on defects in labour and materials for up to 12 months. The common property for Strata properties carry an all-inclusive warranty of up to 15 months.

We have run into plenty of examples of property managers and homeowners realizing at the last second their limited 12-month warranty coverage was about to expire and be gone for good, so we had to rush into action – and sometimes it was even too late to accommodate them!

If there are any issues with your new home, it’s up to you to document all deficiencies in writing and report them to the builder, B.C. Housing and the Warranty-Provider, before those critical dates run out and this is where Duxbury & Associates can help.

These deadlines can creep up very quickly, so it’s important to get your new home checked well before the 12/15 months are up. We recommend having your home checked after you have been living in it, but well before the deadline, so you are able to take advantage of the warranty coverage, so you won’t have to pay out of your own pocket.

It’s also important to note that the 2-5-10 warranty is attached to the home, not to the owner of the home and therefore remains in effect upon the re-sale or transfer of that home until the coverage fully expires.

If you have any questions about new home warranties or any other inspection or consulting needs, please contact Glenn at Duxbury & Associates. We know how to author a hard-hitting Deficiency/Warranty Report that gets results and are here to help in any way we can, so you can count on us!

Once your new home is complete, your builder or warranty provider should also provide a home maintenance manual advising how mechanical systems work, where to find the controls and a maintenance schedule to help protect and maintain the home. Don’t forget, your warranty insurance coverage is conditional on proper maintenance of your new home being carried out – according to that manual and minimization of any further damages/failure due to a lack of adequate maintenance.