New Home Buyer Protection Act in Effect: February 1, 2014

What You Need to Know

 

Warranties will be required for all new homes in Alberta, starting on February 1st.
An easy to follow visual outline of the Act and its requirements is here.
This new legislation will apply to:

New homes (building permits after Feb. 1/14 including modular and manufactured homes.)
Major reconstruction of homes (only in cases where construction results in four times the square footage prior to rebuild.)

Home Warranty Public Registry

 

The government is creating a new public registry, which will be accessible after February, to assist homebuyers and industry professionals. The new registry will allow buyers, REALTORS®, lending institutions and others to determine if a resale home has a warranty on it.
REALTORS® will be able to search this registry, after Feb. 1, on behalf of their clients to check warranty start dates and find out if any warranty is remaining, etc. The registry is at http://homewarranty.alberta.ca/.

Home Warranty Providers in Alberta

Alberta currently has five (5) warranty providers with whom builders can partner for coverage:

 

Aviva Insurance Company of Canada (represented by National Home Warranty Group Inc.)
Progressive Home Warranty Solutions Inc.
Blanket Home Warranty Ltd.
The Alberta New Home Warranty Program
Travelers Canada