New Home Warranty

The warranty is attached to the home, not the owner. If you buy a resale home that was built after February 2014, the remaining warranty transfers to you automatically. The coverage follows a 1-2-5-10 year structure — different parts of your home are covered for different lengths of time. Alberta is one of only four provinces in Canada that mandate this protection (along with BC, Ontario, and Quebec). Homes built before February 2014 may or may not have warranty — check your purchase documents.

1 Year — Materials and Labour: Defects in things like baseboards, flooring, trim, cabinets, railings, staircases, and driveways. This is the cosmetic and finish work. Report issues early — once this year is up, these items are no longer covered.

2 Years — Delivery and Distribution Systems: Defects in your heating, electrical, plumbing, ventilation, and air conditioning systems. If a pipe leaks due to improper installation or your furnace was incorrectly wired, this is the coverage that applies.

5 Years — Building Envelope: The shell of your home — roof, exterior walls, windows, insulation. Anything that separates inside from outside. If your roof leaks due to a construction defect, this coverage applies. Builders can purchase an optional 2-year extension, making this 7 years total.

10 Years — Major Structural: The load-bearing parts of your home — foundation, frame, and roof structure. A structural defect means a failure that materially and adversely affects the use of the home for residential occupancy. Foundation cracks alone are not automatically structural defects — normal shrinkage cracking is expected in concrete.

The seven approved providers are: Alberta New Home Warranty Program (ANHWP), National Home Warranty Group Inc., Progressive Home Warranty Ltd., Blanket Home Warranty Ltd., WBI Home Warranty Ltd., and two others. Each provider is backed by a major insurance company — for example, National Home Warranty is backed by Aviva Canada, and Blanket and WBI are backed by Intact Insurance. While the minimum coverage is legislated, some providers offer enhanced packages. ANHWP has over 400 builder members and has protected over 100,000 homes across Western Canada.

This matters because the clock starts ticking from the commencement date, not from when you actually notice an issue. If your builder gave you possession on March 1 but the title transferred on February 15, the warranty started February 15. For show homes and quick-possession homes, the commencement date may be even earlier — it starts when the builder takes possession from the warranty provider, not when you buy it. Always confirm your exact commencement date with your warranty provider.

Common exclusions that surprise homeowners: drywall cracks from normal settling (not a structural defect unless a load-bearing component is failing), telepost adjustments (considered homeowner maintenance), damage from failure to manage surface water around the home, ice dam damage from failure to clear snow from eaves, and cosmetic issues reported after the 1-year mark. Appliances are covered by the manufacturer, not the home warranty. Also excluded: anything caused by the homeowner's own modifications, additions, or renovations after possession.

Step by step: (1) Document the issue with photos and written descriptions. (2) Contact your builder in writing — email is best because it creates a record. (3) Give the builder a reasonable time to respond and schedule a repair. (4) If the builder does not respond or you disagree with their assessment, contact your warranty provider. For ANHWP, you can file online through the homeowner portal at homeowners.anhwp.com. (5) The warranty provider will inspect, assess, and either approve the claim or explain why it is not covered. (6) If you disagree with the warranty provider's decision, you can request mediation or pursue other resolution options.

For example, if you sell your home 3 years after the commencement date, the new owner still has 7 years of structural coverage, 2 years of building envelope coverage, and the delivery systems and materials coverage have already expired. The new owner can log into the warranty provider's homeowner portal to view their coverage. They can also search the Alberta Home Warranty Public Registry to confirm the warranty status before buying.

This coverage protects: your deposit (up to a legislated maximum), the cost to complete the home if the builder defaults, and living expenses if completion is delayed. This is separate from the 1-2-5-10 warranty — it covers the period before you move in. If your builder becomes insolvent mid-construction, the warranty provider steps in to manage the completion or refund your deposit. This is one of the most important protections for buyers of new construction, especially in custom builds where deposits can be substantial.

The 75% threshold is based on the total construction of the finished home, not just the renovation portion. If you are converting a non-residential building (church, warehouse) into a home, the Act applies if the building is less than 10 years old. If you are unsure whether your project crosses the threshold, contact the Alberta Residential Protection Program at 780-644-1010 or 1-866-421-6929. For standard renovations, your protection comes from your contract with the contractor, not a legislated warranty. Get everything in writing.

These are minimums set by the Home Warranty Insurance Regulation. Some warranty providers and builders offer higher coverage amounts. The coverage limit represents the cost of repairing or replacing defects — it does not include land value, contents, or landscaping. For homes with a replacement cost above $265,000, homeowners can purchase additional coverage. Your mortgage lender may also require proof of warranty coverage as a condition of financing a new build.

The registry is free to search and is available to homeowners, buyers, realtors, lawyers, and lenders. It shows: the registered builder, builder licence status, warranty provider, warranty commencement date, and whether coverage is active. If you are buying a resale home built after 2014, check this registry to confirm the remaining warranty. Your real estate lawyer should also verify warranty status as part of the title search and closing process.

Lenders are cautious about owner-built homes without warranty. Some lenders require a professional inspection or appraisal with a construction quality assessment. If you are planning to build and later sell, purchasing warranty coverage voluntarily makes the home significantly easier to finance and sell. The owner-builder authorization process requires you to confirm that you will be living in the home — it is not a way to build spec homes without a builder licence.