BC 2-5-10 New-Home Warranty Coverage and Claim Windows (Home Systems)

BC’s 2-5-10 New-Home Warranty Gives a Building-Envelope Claim Window That Closes at Year 5 — File Before It Does

idea warranty decision-rule bc-housing

The claim

BC’s Homeowner Protection Act¹ mandates a 2-5-10 new-home warranty on all homes built by licensed residential builders. The building-envelope tier (water penetration / moisture ingress) closes at 5 years from first occupancy.² A defect that manifests at year 4 but is not reported before year 5 becomes an owner-cost. The warranty stays with the home — it transfers to subsequent buyers.²

Rule: know your first-occupancy date; set a calendar reminder for Year 4 (at the latest) to inspect the building envelope and file any claims before the window closes.

Coverage tiers

Tier	What	Duration (from first occupancy)	Strata specifics
2-year	Defects in materials + labour; major systems (electrical, plumbing, HVAC)	24 months (12 months for some elements in detached homes)	Common property: 15 months materials/labour
5-year	Building envelope — unintended water penetration that could cause damage	60 months	File claim by Year 5
10-year	Structural defects in load-bearing components	120 months	Max claim: lesser of $100K/unitor$2.5M/building

What is excluded

• Normal wear and tear
• Damage caused by owner / tenant / occupant
• Landscaping, non-residential structures, roads, site grading
• Defects resulting from owner-directed changes during construction

When it does NOT apply

• Homes built by unlicensed builders — pre-Homeowner Protection Act, or non-compliant post-1999 builds
• Detached owner-builder homes — exemption exists but no warranty is issued¹
• Renovations and additions — only the new construction portion may be covered; confirm with the builder/warranty provider

The claim trigger

A defect must be reported within the coverage period — not merely discovered or visible.² Verbal reporting is not sufficient. File a written claim with the warranty provider (e.g. BC Housing, Travellers, or other approved provider) within the period. Keep records.

FILL required

• Warranty provider: FILL
• Certificate / policy number: FILL
• First-occupancy date: FILL
• Building-envelope claim window closes: FILL (year 5 = first-occupancy date + 5 years)
• Structural warranty expires: FILL (year 10 from first occupancy)

Idea Compass

North: Where this comes from

• BC’s Homeowner Protection Act — the statutory mandate
• BC Housing (bchousing.org) — the licensing and consumer services authority

East: Tensions / failure

• the claim-window closing — the irreversible loss if missed
• exclusions — normal wear and tear vs defect is the contested line in real claims

South: Where this leads

• insurance-warranties (Home Systems) — the named-resource card for the warranty provider
• the appliance + warranty register — the operational home for FILL data

West: What’s similar

• manufacturer appliance warranties — same “file before expiry” discipline, shorter windows
• contractor workmanship warranties — same pattern, 1–2 yr typical

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Sources

Footnotes

1. Homeowner Protection Act [SBC 1998] Chapter 31, BC Laws — s.22 mandates home warranty insurance on all new homes by licensed residential builders; s.23 statutory protection tiers; owner-builder exemption — https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/98031_01 ↩ ↩²

2. BC Housing, the provincial licensing and consumer services authority — 2-5-10 home warranty insurance: 2-yr materials/labour, 5-yr building envelope (written claim required within the period), 10-yr structural; strata limits $100K/unitor$2.5M/building; warranty transfers with the home — https://www.bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services/new-homes/home-warranty-insurance-new-homes ↩ ↩² ↩³