BC Home Warranty Program - CBC Story

After reading yet another news storey about home owners that have not found relief from their home warranty provider, you have to ask - Is the system working???

The concept of having builders pay a premium to have their homes covered by a warranty program, in case problems arise post construction is sound. But it will only protect the public if the following is in place:

• The program is not relied on as a catch net for shoddy workmanship (this should be caught by the municipal inspectors and they should have the jurisdiction to comment on workmanship, something they are currently not authorized to do)
• The home actually gets inspected throughout the construction by the warranty provider inspector to ensure compliance with warranty specifications
• The warranty inspectors are required to be trained to the same levels as a municipal inspector and required to update their training on an ongoing basis (they need to be Certified or preferably even Licensed)
• The specifications for the finished structures need to be improved significantly. Homeowners would be shocked at what is not considered a 'defect' by the warranty companies policies. These specifications should be set by public and industry consultation, and not be some big secret locked in the warranty companies vault. There should be a panel of industry experts that sit around a table and discuss what makes a good long lasting dwelling. This panel should include members from the building enclosure science industry. Why not make a home covered by a warranty, a sign of building excellence instead of the same minimal standards represented by the building code.
• The fees paid by the builders need to reflect that particular builders track record (and this should track the head contractor personally and not just a company name). If they build poorly, require a lot of supervision, and their structures result in a lot of call backs - they should be charged more.
• In general, the fees collected should be able to cover the industry re-work required. We do not want another repeat of what happened when the HPO pulled the interest free loans for leaky condo owners because the work required exceeded the money collected.

As a home inspector, I have performed milestone inspections for owners coming up to a warranty milestones, and have always been disappointed at how loose the warranty policies are. Things I would consider a deficiency during a regular pre-purchase home inspection are items the policies do not cover and my clients have no coverage for. I regularly hear from other owners who have had the same concerns in their struggle to get items addressed by the builder to only be told the deficiency is not covered.

We are coming into a new way of building homes in 2011, when the building code introduces changes for phase 1 of a push for more energy efficient homes. These changes come with a need to fundamentally change how walls are constructed (the increases in thermal insulation of walls will require externally insulated assemblies in most cases) and as such, we are going to need the industry to understand the science behind these changes. Externally insulated walls require a fundamental change in how we address vapour barriers and how we build to ensure homes are more air tight and there is less likelihood of warm interior air condensing somewhere within the wall assembly. I believe the vast majority of builders are building things 'the way we have for the last 30 years' and as such, we are setting ourselves up for the next big mass of residential building failures. As such, it is more important than ever, to ensure the consumer is protected from the liability that may be present in these new structures.

My recommendation is to hire your own inspectors. Talk to your municipality - they may have a recommendation for retired municipal building, plumbing or electrical inspector that provides supplementary inspections for home owners who are contracting to have a home built. You can usually also just pay for extra municipal inspections. Some home inspectors may also be able to provide this service, but most do not have the building code training or do not perform building code inspections enough to remain current.

Lastly, make sure your specifications provide a house that YOU will be comfortable with, this often means a home built to best practices, as opposed to minimal building codes. Be willing to invest a little more money and have a building envelope scientist look at the design and have all parties listen carefully to their recommendations. Do not let aesthetic design requirements override fundamental good building science. Make sure your builders/contractors are aware that you will be holding them to a higher standard.

In closing, I support the concept of a home warranty program. But the system, as it stands right now is not working, and even if it was would in my opinion, not result in a guarantee of well built homes. We need improvements to how homes are built, what is covered by the warranty, transparency in the program, and accountability by both the building community and the warranty providers.