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Feb
12

Alberta New Home Buyer Protection Act

Understanding the Alberta New Home Buyers Protection Act

Starting February 1, 2014 the long awaited Alberta New Home Buyers Protection Act (ANHWP) will take effect. The provincial act requires that all builders partner with a warranty provider to offer comprehensive warranty coverage for each new home purchased on or after Feb 1. of this year. Avalon has been a long standing member of ANHWP, so there will not be much difference between the warranty our customers have, and continue to enjoy, compared to the new coverage.

The new coverage:

The New Home Buyers Protection Act includes four well-defined areas of coverage with a specific number of years for each area:

- 1 year coverage for labour and materials. This means all the things that went into    building your home, such as the flooring and drywall, plus the workmanship of trades. 

- 2 years coverage for delivery and distribution. This section covers your heating,  plumbing, and electrical systems if there are problems with material and labour. 

-5 years coverage for the building envelope. The building envelope is the exterior shell of  your home, such as the roof and siding. Homeowners have the option of purchasing two  extra years of coverage for their building envelope.

- 10 years coverage for major structural components. The foundation of the home and        frame are areas covered under this section.

Homeowners responsibility:

Our homeowner's should familiarize themselves with the ANHWP at www.anhwp.com. It is also important to understand Avalon's warranty program, more information on ours can be found at www.avalonmasterbuilder.com. The act requires homeowners to maintain their homes, so keep and read your manuals. Things like changing furnace filters and furnace cleaning help prevent problems down the road. Reporting problems in a timely fashion to your builder, reducing and stopping damage when possible, and allowing access to the home, also fall under homeowner responsibilities. 

**Damage from day to day use, misuse or accidents (such as flushing toys down the toilet) is not included in any part of the warranty coverage. 

The registry:

Another part of the act is the Public Registry. Once the new law takes effect, builders are required to register each new home and project with this agency. This will help homeowners keep track of warranty coverage, and help realtors and resale buyers see what warranty components are still active. 

For more information:

This is just a brief synopsis of the more relevant points of the Alberta New Home Buyers Protection Act. For more information please visit www.warrantyalberta.com.

 

 

 

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