Who does warranty insurance protect?
Mandatory home warranty insurance protects new home owners and Strata corporations in BC against building construction defects and violations.
When should warranty reviews take place?
Warranty inspections should be conducted by an unaffiliated independent consultant (with no connection to the project, builder, or warranty provider) prior to the deadline of each warranty period, even if there are no easily recognizable signs of concern.
The 2-Year Structural Warranty Review is the most critical, as your consultant will examine the building for compliance with the BC Building Code. Structural defects that are not documented during this stage may not be sufficient cause for a warranty claim at the 10-Year Review.
The 10-Year Structural Warranty Period bases claims on two criteria:
- Failed structural member
- Affected ability to use the property as intended
If you cannot prove both of these conditions, your claim will not be valid. Catch these issues well before then, at your 2-Year Review.
2-5-10 Warranty Coverage
| Warranty Period | Coverage | Example of Warrantable Claim |
| 2 years* | Labour and Materials | Detachment of or damage to exterior materials. |
| (First 12 months) | Labour and Materials | Material defects within a home. |
| (First 15 months) | Labour and Materials | Material defects in the common property of a Strata. |
| 5 years | Building Envelope | Unintended water penetration into building. |
| 10 years | Structural Defects | Failure of a load-bearing part of the building. |
*Most critical time during which to conduct a Structural Warranty Review
Latera’s Typical Scope of Work for a Structural Warranty Review
- Review structural drawings of the building
- Meet with the Property Manager
- Prepare a resident survey in order to determine if the building suffers from any performance problems
- Perform a visual review of the exterior of the building, parkade, and roof
- Review the interior of select units based on survey results
- Write a report, with photographs, outlining our observations and recommendations for future action by the Strata Corporation
How long does it take to complete a Structural Warranty Review?
A standard structural warranty review with Latera takes approximately a month to complete. We need 2 weeks to conduct and compile the results of the resident survey, 4 hours for the site visit, and a 2-week turnaround time for completion of the report.
Here are some examples of structural concerns discovered by Latera:
How to get started:
Feel free to contact us at info@latera.ca or 604-492-3304. The first step will be for us to draft up a proposal including our scope of work and a recommended budget. We look
forward to serving your structural assessment needs.
Bibliography
Homeowner Protection Office, Guide to Home Warranty Insurance in British Columbia https://www.hpo.bc.ca/files/download/Bulletins/GuideToHomeWarrantyInsurance.pdf Accessed: 12 May 2016
Homeowner Protection Office, Warranty Enrollment https://hpo.bc.ca/warranty-enrollment Accessed: 12 May 2016
Lesperance Mendes, Guide to 2-5-10 Warranties http://www.choa.bc.ca/_resources/2-5-10_Warranty_Guide.pdf Accessed: 12 May 2016
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