A new house still needs repairs. Some belong to the warranty, and some are yours from day one. This guide covers what the 2-5-10 coverage includes, what it can leave out, how a claim works, and where a handyman fits. The rules come from the Homeowner Protection Act Regulation and BC Housing, read in September 2026.
What does the 2-5-10 warranty cover in BC?
Schedule 3 of the Homeowner Protection Act Regulation sets the minimum coverage. Your own policy can give more.
- First 12 months: any defect in materials and labour in your home. For strata common property, the period is 15 months.
- First 24 months: defects in the electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Also defects in cladding, caulking, windows and doors that may lead to detachment or material damage, and defects that make the home unfit to live in.
- 5 years: defects in the building envelope, including water getting in where it should not and causing, or likely to cause, material damage.
- 10 years: structural defects.
A building code violation counts in the first two years only if it is an unreasonable health or safety risk, or has caused or is likely to cause material damage. Your warranty provider must send you a schedule of the expiry dates. If you bought the home from someone else, the unused coverage moved to you on its own. No notice to the provider was needed.
What is not covered by a new home warranty?
Section 11 of the regulation lets a warranty provider exclude these, among others:
- Weathering, normal wear and tear, and deterioration within normal industry standards
- Normal shrinkage of materials as they dry after construction
- Damage caused or made worse by poor maintenance by anyone other than the builder
- Materials or work supplied by the owner, or by anyone other than the builder
- Changes or additions made after you move in, unless the builder made them
- Damage from not acting in time, including slow notice of a defect
Section 10 adds landscaping and fencing, detached sheds and garages, and site drainage beyond what the building code requires. Every exclusion must be written in your policy. A maintenance exclusion only applies to upkeep steps the builder or provider gave the original owner, so keep the manual and the product papers.
How do you make a home warranty claim in BC?
In writing, to two people. Section 16 says that once you find a defect, and before coverage expires, you give written notice in reasonable detail to both the warranty provider and the builder. BC Housing's claims page says to do it as soon as possible, using your provider's forms. If you are not sure who the provider is, search your address in its New Homes Registry.
A phone call to the builder is not a claim. BC Housing says repairs a builder offers without written notice to the warranty provider do not count as a formal claim. If that repair fails after coverage ends, it may be too late. In a strata, you report defects inside your unit, and the strata corporation reports defects in common property. For work you plan yourself, strata renovation rules in BC covers what needs approval.
After you file, the provider must try to reach you promptly and arrange a look. A denial comes in writing with reasons. Repairs made under the warranty are covered until the later of one year after the repair or the end of the original coverage.
Should you fix a deficiency yourself before the warranty claim is settled?
Stop the damage, then wait. BC Housing says to check with the warranty provider before any repair, because work by someone other than the builder or provider may limit your claim. The regulation backs that up. Work supplied by others, and changes made after you move in, are on the list of things a provider can exclude.
You still have a duty to limit damage. For a covered defect, section 17 says timely written notice meets that duty. If the defect needs immediate attention, such as water coming in, you must take reasonable steps to stop it from spreading. Shut off the water, catch the drip, take photos, and tell the provider in writing that day.
My advice is to file with the warranty provider first. I would not hire anyone, me included, to repair a covered defect until the provider has answered in writing.
Which new-build fixes fall to the owner?
Anything the policy leaves out, and everything once coverage ends. That means upkeep and wear, and anything you change yourself. The regulation lets a provider exclude normal shrinkage as materials dry after construction. Ask the provider how it treats small drywall cracks before anyone patches them. My guide on why drywall cracks keep coming back explains the usual causes.
For the first year of upkeep, my new home maintenance checklist sets the order. When the warranty is not in play, I handle that list through handyman repairs in Langley, home repairs in Cloverdale and drywall repair in Abbotsford. Tell me the home's age in the quote request, so we can check the warranty question first.
Every job I take gets a written scope before I start, so the price is agreed in advance and the list stays the list.
Want me to take this one on? My page on home repairs covers what the visit includes, what I hand off, and how I price it.
