Is a BC home under 10 years old still under warranty when I buy it?

What the answer means

The cover belongs to the home, not the first buyer, so a home bought within its first ten years usually comes with whatever is left of the terms.

The 2-5-10 terms

The insurance must cover defects in materials and labour for at least 2 years, the building envelope, including water getting in, for at least 5 years, and structural defects for at least 10 years (Homeowner Protection Act s. 22 (2)). A home can't be sold within 10 years of its first occupancy permit without it, unless the home or seller is exempt or the registrar permits it (s. 22 (1.1), (1.2)).

What the first two years cover

Any defect in materials and labour for the first 12 months (15 months for a strata's common property); through 24 months, defects in the electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, in the cladding, caulking, windows and doors that may lead to detachment or damage, and any defect that makes the home unfit to live in. A building code breach counts only where it is an unreasonable health or safety risk or has caused, or is likely to cause, material damage (Homeowner Protection Act Regulation, Schedule 3 s. 1).

It passes to you

The insurance belongs to the home, no notice is needed on a sale, and every unused benefit transfers to each later owner (Schedule 2 s. 2). The terms start at the earliest of first occupancy, the occupancy permit or the home being ready, or for a strata lot at occupancy or the title's transfer; a strata's common property starts with the first unit in each building (Schedule 3 ss. 4, 5).

What it may leave out

A warranty provider may exclude landscaping and fencing, detached sheds and garages, septic tanks and fields, a well and its water's quality or quantity (the well's equipment counts as plumbing), site drainage beyond the building code, wear and tear, alterations, new living space or a second unit added by anyone but the builder, acts of nature, contaminated soil and mould damage to belongings, among others (Regulation ss. 10, 11). Every exclusion must be written in the policy (s. 13 (2)).

Limits

Where a provider caps claims, the cap may be no lower than the original price or $200,000 for a house, whichever is less, $100,000 for a strata unit, and up to $2.5 million a building for common property (s. 12). The policy can't make an owner pay a deductible or sign a release before repairs (s. 13 (1)).

Making a claim

Give the warranty provider and the builder written notice of the defect in reasonable detail, within a reasonable time of finding it and before the term runs out (s. 16); a delay that lets damage grow can be excluded (s. 17). A refused claim comes with written reasons, and the owner can require mediation (Schedule 2 ss. 1, 3). An owner can get the home's claims history from the provider, for up to $25 (Schedule 2 s. 4).

Owner-built homes

A home built by an owner builder has no warranty insurance. The owner builder is deemed to promise the same 2, 5 and 10 years, from the first occupancy permit or first occupancy, to whoever owns the home, and a buyer can sue for a breach within 10 years of first occupancy (s. 23). The seller must give a disclosure notice saying whether the home is covered (s. 21). See unpermitted work.

What it means for a buyer

BC Housing's New Homes Registry shows whether a home has warranty insurance and a licensed builder, or was owner-built. Ask for the policy itself and the schedule of expiry dates the provider gave the first owner (Regulation s. 15): they tell you what's left. A home past its tenth year has no cover left; a building envelope renovation by a licensed repair contractor can carry warranty insurance of its own (BC Housing's page).

Our summary of the Homeowner Protection Act (SBC 1998, c. 31, ss. 21 to 23) and the Homeowner Protection Act Regulation (B.C. Reg. 29/99, ss. 10 to 17 and Schedules 2 and 3) on BC Laws, and BC Housing's page on buying a previously owned home, read 2026-10-19. The policy on the home sets its own terms within the Regulation's minimums; it, the warranty provider and your lawyer are the final word.

Sources, read 2026-10-19 and summarised in our words unless marked otherwise: Homeowner Protection Act, SBC 1998, c. 31, ss. 21 to 23; Homeowner Protection Act Regulation, B.C. Reg. 29/99, ss. 10 to 17, Schedules 2 and 3; Buying a previously owned home, BC Housing; Using the New Homes Registry, BC Housing (read 2026-10-19).

Before you buy: who to ask

The seller or their agent

Who built the home, and when was it first occupied? Can I see the warranty policy, its schedule of expiry dates and the provider's claims history? Have you altered or added to it since?

The warranty provider

Which terms are still running, and are any claims open on the home or a strata's common property?

Your lawyer or notary

For an owner-built home, did the seller give the disclosure notice, and what does the statutory protection leave me if a defect shows up?

Your home inspector or a specialist

Is anything you see a defect worth notifying under the warranty before its term runs out?

Look up the lot above: its report names the zone, our summary of what it allows, and links the official records to search.

See also official records, owner-built and unpermitted work, home inspections, a strata home's papers, builders liens and what a seller must disclose.