Minimum coverage

At a minimum, home warranty insurance coverage includes:

• 2 years on labour and materials (some limits apply)
• 5 years on the building envelope, including water penetration
• 10 years on the structure of the home

• 12 months on detached homes and on non-common property in strata units (including fee simple homes)
• 15 months on the common property of strata buildings
• 24 months on all new buildings for defects when related to delivery and distribution systems, such as air conditioning, electrical, heating ventilation, plumbing, etc.

The cost of the home warranty insurance is set by the providers.

There are some new homes with home warranty insurance coverage that exceeds the minimum requirement. The warranty is attached to the home, not to the owner of the home, and remains in effect upon the re-sale of the home until the coverage expires.

Strata-titled homes have two policies of home warranty insurance: one on the home and the other on the common property. Sometimes when the coverage of a new strata-titled home starts, the coverage on the related common property has already started — or expired. Coverage on the common property of strata-titled buildings starts when the first unit in the building is occupied or sold.