New Homes Registry - A Valuable Online Tool
Posted: Mar 30, 2012
The New Homes Registry (available on the Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) website at www.hpo.bc.ca), provides free access to find out if a home has a policy of home warranty insurance and is built by a licensed residential builder, or whether it is built without home warranty insurance under an exemption, such as an Owner Builder Authorization.
Licensees can use the New Homes Registry to avoid being involved in an illegal sale. The registry indicates whether an owner-built home can be legally offered for sale. Homes suspected of being illegally built, or where home warranty insurance has been withdrawn prior to issuance, will be flagged on the registry as being “under investigation.” For homes built by licensed residential builders, the New Homes Registry displays the name and contact number of the warranty provider, and the builder’s warranty number.
Every new home built for sale by a licensed residential builder in British Columbia is protected by mandatory third-party home warranty insurance. Better known as 2-5-10 home warranty insurance, this coverage includes: two years on labour and materials (some limits apply), five years on the building envelope including water penetration, and 10 years on the structure. It’s the strongest system of construction defect insurance in Canada.
Licensees [REALTORS], as well as homebuyers, lawyers, local governments, and others can quickly check the residential builder licensing and home warranty status of a new home or a new home under construction by using the civic address. All homes registered with the HPO on or after November 19, 2007 are searchable on the New Homes Registry. This includes both single detached homes and multi-unit homes, including duplexes.
For residential builder and home warranty information on a home registered between July 1, 1999 and November 19, 2007, or if a property cannot be found on the registry, contact the HPO at 1-800-407-7757. Licensees can also contact the HPO for more information about homes flagged as being “under investigation” on the registry.
The Homeowner Protection Office is a branch of BC Housing, a provincial agency within the Ministry of Energy and Mines and the Ministry Responsible for Housing. The HPO is responsible for programs that protect the home buying public in British Columbia: the licensing of residential builders and monitoring the private-sector home warranty insurance system that provides consumers with protection against defects in new homes built by Licensed Residential Builders.
The HPO is also responsible for research and education related to residential construction and provides consumer information on a variety of topics of general interest to buyers of new homes.
For free access to the New Homes Registry, visit the Homebuyers section of the HPO website at www.hpo.bc.ca.
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Article borrowed from RECBC (Real Estate Council of British Columbia) Report from Council Volume 47, No.3
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