Repair Warranty Insurance on Building Envelope Renovations

Repair contractors who perform building envelope renovations must be licensed by BC Housing and provide mandatory, third-party warranty insurance for applicable building envelope renovations.

Warranty coverage

Regulation, not warranty providers, sets the minimum coverage for warranty insurance covering applicable building envelope renovations.

The coverage includes:

2 years on labour and materials (some limits apply)
5 years on the building envelope, including water penetration

You may have some repairs that do not meet the requirements of the Homeowner Protection Act and Regulations. In this case, you don’t need a licensed building envelope renovator to carry out the work or to have warranty insurance on the repairs.

Repair warranty insurance claims

If, as a homeowner, you find a potential construction defect before any applicable repair warranty insurance coverage expires, you should take immediate action. You must give written notice of the defect to the warranty provider and building envelope renovator.

Homeowners have a duty to mitigate damage, while warranty providers are required to handle claims as detailed in the regulations (Schedule 2, section 3).

You can also request a disclosure of the claims history (Schedule 2, section 4) for your home from the warranty provider. To get in touch with your warranty insurance provider, consult our list of those approved in B.C.

Our Residential Construction Performance Guide lays out the minimum required performance of new homes covered by home warranty insurance, according to B.C. law. Residential builders can use the guide to help meet or exceed the standard to which their new homes will be measured in the event of a claim.

Disputes

As a homeowner, you can compel the warranty provider to take part in a mandatory mediation session. The mediation process is performed independently of BC Housing.

The Act and Regulation allow for mandatory third-party mediation of disputes between owners and warranty providers, if the strata council or owner requests it. Owners do not need to start legal action to initiate mandatory mediation. This process is independent of BC Housing.