New Home Warranty in Canada (2026): What Tarion, BC's 2-5-10, Alberta and Quebec Actually Cover

New Home Warranty in Canada (2026): What Tarion, BC's 2-5-10, Alberta and Quebec Actually Cover

Short answer: Canada has no national new-home warranty. Four provinces require one by law. Ontario buyers get Tarion coverage with 1-year, 2-year and 7-year periods. British Columbia buyers get 2-5-10 home warranty insurance. Alberta buyers get 1-2-5-10 coverage under the New Home Buyer Protection Act. Quebec buyers get the guarantee plan administered by Garantie de construction résidentielle (GCR), with stages at 1, 3 and 5 years. In the remaining provinces and territories, there is no equivalent mandatory program on the official sources used for this guide, so the purchase contract and any voluntary warranty the builder offers carry the full weight. In all four mandatory provinces, the warranty pays only if you report the defect inside its period and through the required form. A real defect reported late is the most common way buyers lose coverage they already paid for inside the purchase price.

This is education only, not legal advice. Warranty rules, limits and forms change, and your own policy or guarantee certificate controls your case. Read your documents, check the program website for your province before any deadline, and get a real estate lawyer to review a disputed claim.

Four programs, four different clocks

The names sound similar and the structures are not. Ontario and Alberta start broad coverage on the possession date and narrow it over time. British Columbia splits its 2-year layer into sub-periods of 12, 15 and 24 months depending on the part of the home. Quebec ties its stages to acceptance of the building, a formal step with its own inspection form, and its longest stage runs 5 years from the end of work rather than 10 years from possession. A buyer who moves from Calgary to Kelowna, or from Gatineau to Ottawa, crosses from one system into a different one on the same river or the same highway.

Three questions separate a useful warranty from a decorative one. First, is the program mandatory, so the builder had to enrol the home before selling it? Second, who pays if the builder refuses or has gone out of business: a warranty provider, an insurer, or a guarantee fund standing behind the builder? Third, what is the last day you can report each type of defect? The province sections below answer all three, and the comparison table collects the answers in one place.

Buyers researching a pre-construction purchase should read this guide next to our construction mortgage guide, which covers how progress draws and completion financing interact with a build timeline, and our coverage of the pre-construction condo crisis, where deposit protection and delay rules stopped being theoretical for thousands of Ontario buyers.

Ontario: Tarion and the 1-2-7 structure

Ontario's program is a statutory warranty provided by the builder and backed by Tarion Warranty Corporation. Builders must be registered and each new home must be enrolled. Coverage starts on the date of possession for a freehold home, or the date of occupancy for a condominium unit. Condominium common elements have their own coverage, which starts when the condominium corporation is registered.

One-year warranty. For the first year, the builder warrants that the home was built in a workmanlike manner, is free from defects in work and materials, is fit for habitation, and complies with the Ontario Building Code. The one-year warranty also protects against unauthorized substitutions of items specified in the purchase agreement or selected by the buyer.

Two-year warranty. The second layer runs for two years and covers a narrower list: water penetration through the basement or foundation walls, windows and the building envelope; defects in work and materials in the electrical, plumbing and heating delivery and distribution systems; defects in exterior cladding, caulking, windows and doors where the defect could lead to detachment or material damage; and Building Code violations that affect health and safety.

Seven-year warranty. The longest layer covers major structural defects for seven years from possession. A major structural defect is a defect in work or materials that affects a load-bearing part of the home and results in structural failure, or that materially and adversely affects the use of the home.

Overall limits. Tarion publishes maximum warranty coverage of $400,000 for a freehold home and $300,000 for a condominium unit for defects in work and materials. Deposit protection and delayed closing compensation sit outside the defect warranty and have their own limits, covered in the deposit section below.

The practical point for Ontario buyers is that the warranty is form-driven. Tarion assistance depends on filing the right form inside its window through the MyHome portal. The deadlines section below lists each form and its timing, because the 1-2-7 labels alone tell you nothing about how to claim.

British Columbia: 2-5-10 home warranty insurance

British Columbia requires third-party home warranty insurance under the Homeowner Protection Act, administered through BC Housing licensing. Every new home built by a licensed residential builder must carry the insurance. BC Housing describes 2-5-10 as the minimum coverage required by law, and some policies provide more.

Two years on materials and labour, with sub-limits. The 2-year label hides three different clocks. Defects in materials and labour are covered for 12 months in detached homes and in the non-common property of a strata unit, and for 15 months in the common property of a multi-unit strata building. A 24-month period applies to all new homes for major systems (electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning), exterior cladding, windows and doors, and defects that make the home unfit to live in. Coverage also includes Building Code violations that create a health or safety risk or are likely to cause material damage.

Five years on the building envelope. This layer covers defects in the building envelope, including unintended water penetration that could cause damage. In a province where rain exposure is the dominant building risk on the coast, this is the layer that does the heavy work in years 3 to 5.

Ten years on structural defects. The longest layer covers defects in load-bearing parts and in the structure of the home, including defects that make the home unfit to live in.

Coverage limits and start dates. BC Housing publishes claim limits of the lesser of the first owner's purchase price or $200,000 for a detached home, the lesser of the purchase price or $100,000 for a strata unit, and the lesser of $100,000 per unit or $2.5 million per building for common property. Coverage starts at occupancy, the occupancy permit, or transfer of title, depending on the home type, with the first of the applicable events starting the clock. The warranty stays with the home and transfers to a new owner on resale for whatever time remains.

Owner-built homes sit outside the insurance model. The owner builder is responsible for defects for 10 years after occupancy, and a buyer of an owner-built home claims against the owner builder directly. Homes on First Nations reserve land are exempt, although a builder may provide coverage voluntarily. Buyers should confirm enrolment in BC Housing's New Homes Registry before closing, not after a defect appears.

Alberta: 1-2-5-10 under the New Home Buyer Protection Act

Alberta made warranty coverage mandatory for new homes where the building permit was applied for on or after February 1, 2014. The New Home Buyer Protection Act sets minimum coverage, builders must hold a licence, and a home cannot be sold without coverage in place and registration in the provincial system. Coverage begins at the first of occupancy, permission to occupy from the permitting authority, or transfer of title to the owner. The warranty is attached to the home and stays in force on resale until it expires.

One year for labour and materials. This layer covers defects in materials and labour connected to how the home was built and the materials used, including flooring, staircases, baseboards, cabinets, railings, and other trim and fixtures.

Two years for delivery and distribution systems. This layer covers defects in the electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning delivery systems.

Five years for building envelope protection. The envelope is the shell of the home, including the roof and walls, separating interior space from the exterior. The Act requires a minimum of 5 years, and warranty providers must offer builders the option of buying 2 additional years of envelope coverage, so some Alberta homes carry 7 years of envelope protection. Ask which version your home has before you assume the longer period applies.

Ten years for major structural components. This layer covers the frame, including the structural integrity of the roof, and the foundation.

Coverage limits. Alberta publishes a minimum coverage limit of $265,000 for a single-family home and $130,000 for a unit in a condominium or other multi-family complex, with up to $3.3 million for the common property of each building in a multi-family project. Homeowners may buy additional coverage. Seven warranty providers currently operate in Alberta, including the Alberta New Home Warranty Program and National Home Warranty. Your provider, not the province, handles your claim, so the provider name on your documents is the address for any dispute.

Quebec: the GCR guarantee plan

Quebec's mandatory plan is administered by Garantie de construction résidentielle, a non-profit organization that has run the plan under the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) framework since January 1, 2015. Contractors who build or sell covered buildings must be accredited by GCR and hold the matching RBQ licence subclass. The plan covers a narrower set of buildings than the other three programs: a detached, semi-detached or row-type single-family house; a condominium building of no more than four stacked private portions; and a multifamily building of two to five units held in undivided co-ownership. A condominium tower with more than four stacked units is not covered by the mandatory plan. Self-built homes are not generally covered.

Quebec runs on acceptance. Before acceptance, buyer and contractor complete a pre-acceptance inspection together, using the RBQ-approved form, and the guarantee takes effect when that form is signed. Work to complete or correct must be recorded in writing at acceptance, or within 3 days after acceptance if the buyer has not moved in. Skipping that written record is the Quebec equivalent of missing a Tarion form.

Before acceptance. GCR publishes coverage for reimbursement of advance payments up to $50,000, completion of work up to $300,000 for a single-family house or $200,000 per unit for a condominium, and relocation, moving and storage costs up to $6,000 against receipts.

After acceptance. Three stages apply. Poor workmanship that existed at acceptance but was not apparent is covered for repair for 1 year after acceptance, provided it is reported in writing within a reasonable time after discovery. Latent (hidden) defects are covered for 3 years after acceptance. Faulty design, construction or execution, and defects tied to the nature of the ground, are covered for 5 years after the end of work. The guarantee transfers on resale for the remainder of its term. If acceptance happens more than 24 months after the end of work, the guarantee does not apply, a trap for buyers of completed inventory homes that sat unsold.

Quebec buyers should verify two facts before signing: the contractor appears in GCR's accredited directory, and the building type falls inside the covered list. A high-rise condominium purchase in Montreal does not carry this mandatory guarantee, whatever the sales centre implies. Contract terms and any voluntary plan offered for that building then decide the buyer's protection, which is a separate review for your notary.

Province-by-province comparison table

Feature	Ontario (Tarion)	British Columbia (2-5-10)	Alberta (1-2-5-10)	Quebec (GCR)
Program type	Statutory builder warranty backed by Tarion	Mandatory third-party insurance	Mandatory warranty under provincial Act	Mandatory guarantee plan
Who runs it	Tarion Warranty Corporation	BC Housing licensing; approved insurers issue policies	Government of Alberta framework; seven warranty providers	Garantie de construction résidentielle under RBQ framework
Mandatory for new homes	Yes, homes enrolled by registered builders	Yes, homes built by licensed residential builders	Yes, permits applied for on or after Feb 1, 2014	Yes, for covered building types only
General defects period	1 year: work and materials, fit for habitation, Building Code	12 months detached and strata non-common property; 15 months strata common property	1 year: labour and materials	1 year: non-apparent poor workmanship existing at acceptance
Systems period	2 years: electrical, plumbing, heating; water penetration; envelope items	24 months: electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning; cladding, windows, doors	2 years: delivery and distribution systems	Covered inside the 1, 3 and 5 year stages; no separate systems layer
Envelope period	Inside the 2-year warranty	5 years, including unintended water penetration	5 years; optional 2-year extension the builder may buy	Inside the 5-year faulty design and construction stage
Longest defect period	7 years: major structural defects	10 years: structural defects	10 years: major structural components	5 years after end of work: faulty design, construction or ground
Overall defect limit	$400,000 freehold; $300,000 condominium unit	Lesser of purchase price or $200,000 detached; $100,000 strata unit; common property lesser of $100,000 per unit or $2.5 million per building	Minimum $265,000 single-family; $130,000 per multi-family unit; up to $3.3 million common property per building	Completion before acceptance: $300,000 house; $200,000 per condominium unit
Deposit or advance protection	Freehold: up to $60,000 at prices of $600,000 or less; 10% of price to $100,000 above that. Condo: trust under the Condominium Act plus $20,000 Tarion backstop	No deposit layer in the 2-5-10 defect insurance; deposit handling sits in the purchase contract and provincial consumer law	No deposit layer in the 1-2-5-10 defect warranty; deposit handling sits in the purchase contract	Advance payments reimbursed up to $50,000 before acceptance
Delayed closing compensation	Up to $7,500, including $150 per day for living expenses	No equivalent in the warranty insurance	No equivalent in the warranty	Relocation, moving and storage up to $6,000 before acceptance, against receipts
Claim route	MyHome portal forms inside fixed windows	Claim to the warranty insurer under the policy	Claim to the warranty provider named on your documents	Written notice to contractor, then a GCR claim file
Transfers on resale	Yes, remaining coverage continues	Yes, coverage stays with the home	Yes, warranty is attached to the home	Yes, for the remainder of the term

Read the table as a map, not as your policy. Each program publishes exclusions and conditions that the table cannot hold, and the condo common elements or common property clock can start on a different date from the clock for your own unit. That split start date surprises strata and condominium buyers in all four provinces.

Deposit protection is not defect coverage

Buyers routinely merge two separate protections into one idea, and the merge causes real losses. Defect coverage answers the question: the home was built with a fault, who pays to fix it? Deposit protection answers a different question: the sale never completed, who gives the buyer their money back? A program can be strong on one and thin on the other.

Ontario splits the two most clearly. Tarion deposit protection applies if the builder goes bankrupt, fundamentally breaches the purchase agreement, or the buyer exercises a statutory right to end the agreement, including a delay beyond the latest date in the Addendum. For a freehold home priced at $600,000 or less, coverage runs to $60,000. Above $600,000, coverage is 10% of the purchase price to a maximum of $100,000. Payments for upgrades and extras count inside those limits. Payments made under a reservation agreement before a purchase agreement is signed do not. For condominiums, the first protection is the Condominium Act trust rule, which requires the builder to hold deposits in trust. Tarion adds a backstop of up to $20,000 if the deposit was not placed in trust. Ontario buyers who paid deposits well above these limits on a failed project learned the gap between the deposit paid and the deposit protected the hard way. Our assignment sale tax guide and the pre-construction assignment analysis cover two of the exit routes buyers reach for in that situation, and neither route restores an unprotected deposit.

Quebec protects advances inside the guarantee plan itself, with reimbursement of advance payments up to $50,000 before acceptance. British Columbia and Alberta warranty programs are defect programs. Neither the BC 2-5-10 insurance nor the Alberta 1-2-5-10 warranty, as described by BC Housing and the Government of Alberta, includes a deposit repayment layer. In those provinces, what happens to a deposit on a failed project turns on the purchase contract, disclosure rules, and provincial consumer protection law. That is a lawyer question at signing, not at failure. Our home purchase deposit guide works through deposit structure, release conditions and forfeiture risk across provinces.

Delayed closing compensation is a third, smaller protection, and only Ontario builds it into the warranty. If closing is delayed beyond the firm date without a valid extension or an unavoidable delay, Tarion's delayed closing coverage pays to a maximum of $7,500. That total includes $150 per day for direct living expenses such as accommodation and meals, plus other delay costs such as moving and storage, with receipts required for the non-daily costs. The claim uses its own form and must be filed within one year of possession or occupancy. Buyers who treat the $7,500 as automatic lose it by missing that filing window.

What is NOT covered

Every program in this guide covers defects in the builder's work. None of them covers the full cost of owning a new home. The exclusions below appear, in program-specific wording, across the four systems and in BC Housing's published exclusion lists in particular.

• Normal wear and tear. Shrinkage cracks, nail pops, fading, minor settling sounds, and wear on finishes from ordinary use are not defects. BC Housing lists normal wear and tear as a permitted defect exclusion, and the other programs assess claims against construction performance standards that make the same distinction.
• Damage you cause, or fail to limit. Damage from alterations you make, work by your own trades, poor maintenance, and a failure to prevent or reduce further damage after a defect appears can all void or reduce a claim. A slow leak reported after it has rotted a floor joist is a different claim from the same leak reported in the week it started.
• Materials, labour and design you supplied. Owner-supplied items sit outside builder coverage in BC and are treated the same way in substance elsewhere. If you supplied the flooring, the builder did not warrant the flooring.
• Cosmetic preferences and contract expectations. BC Housing states the insurance covers how the home was built, not cosmetic issues, personal preferences, or contractual expectations. A legal suite that was never in the contract, a finish you dislike but accepted at inspection, and a room size you misread on the plan are not warranty claims.
• Landscaping, grading and site work. BC Housing lists landscaping, roads, curbs and lanes, and site grading and surface drainage among permitted general exclusions. GCR excludes work outside the building such as pools, landscaping, sidewalks and driveways, apart from a narrow drainage-slope exception described in its materials. Ontario buyers should assume exterior site work needs its own contract wording.
• Buildings and uses outside the program. Quebec excludes transformations, renovations on an existing foundation, condominium buildings over four stacked units, and self-built homes. Alberta excludes dormitories, care facilities, work camps and hotels, and homes on federal lands such as reserves and national parks. BC exempts several building types, including owner-built homes under the owner builder rules.
• Appliances and manufacturer items. Manufacturer warranties run separately. A failed furnace part in year 3 may be a manufacturer claim, a systems claim, or neither, depending on the failure. Keep the manufacturer documents the builder hands over at closing.
• Losses above the program limit. Each program caps what it pays. Repairs above the cap, and losses such as a drop in market value, are not warranty payments. Title and closing protections are separate products; our title insurance guide explains what that policy does and does not do beside a new-home warranty.

The exclusion that costs buyers the most money is not on that list because it is procedural, not substantive: a covered defect reported after its period ends. The next two sections exist to prevent that outcome.

Before closing in Ontario: the PDI and your first file

The pre-delivery inspection, or PDI, is the buyer's one structured chance to record the condition of an Ontario home before possession. You walk the home with the builder's representative, test systems, and record every damaged, incomplete, missing or not working item on the PDI form. That form becomes evidence that a condition existed before you moved in. Items caused by the builder or its trades and recorded at the PDI can be carried into the first warranty form if the builder does not fix them.

A disciplined PDI takes two to three hours on a typical house. Bring the purchase agreement and upgrade list, a phone for dated photos and video, a charger to test outlets, and a second person to run taps and flush toilets while you watch for leaks below. Work room by room and system by system:

1. Run every tap, shower and toilet. Check under each sink for active leaks and water staining.
2. Test every electrical outlet, switch, light, exhaust fan, and the furnace or heat pump through a full start cycle.
3. Open and close every window and door, including locks, screens, and the garage door opener.
4. Photograph every scratch, dent, chip, paint defect and damaged finish, close up and from across the room. Cosmetic damage is hardest to prove after furniture arrives.
5. Compare finishes and fixtures against the agreement and your upgrade selections. Unauthorized substitution is a one-year warranty item, and the PDI record is the cleanest proof.
6. Record anything you cannot test as unable to inspect, rather than leaving it blank. Winter closings hide roofs, grading, exterior paint and air conditioning under snow and cold.
7. Read the completed form before signing. Confirm the possession date shown, because that date starts every warranty clock and every form deadline below.

Quebec buyers get a parallel protection through the mandatory pre-acceptance inspection, with one sharper edge: items must be in writing at acceptance or within 3 days after it if you have not moved in. Treat that 3-day window as a hard deadline, not a guideline. Buyers in every province benefit from an independent inspection at the same stage. Our home inspection checklist sets out the system-by-system list an inspector works through, and our final walk-through checklist covers the closing-day pass for both new and resale homes.

Claims and deadlines: where valid claims die

Each program gives the builder the first chance to fix a defect. Each program also sets a last date for telling the program about it. The sequence matters as much as the substance: notify the builder in writing, keep proof of delivery, allow the program's repair window, then escalate inside the same coverage period if the repair does not happen.

Ontario form windows (Tarion MyHome). Tarion divides the first year into staged forms. The Initial Form opens the day after possession and is automatically submitted on day 41. The Mid-Year Form opens on day 42 and is automatically submitted on day 183. The Year-End Form opens on day 183 and is automatically submitted on day 365, with a 10-day grace period that requires written evidence you reported the items to the builder during the first year. Only one Year-End Form is accepted, and Tarion warns that skipping it risks losing one-year items. The Second Year Form can be filed at any point in the second year, and more than one can be filed. A Major Structural Defect Form can be filed after the second year and no later than seven years from possession. The Delayed Closing or Delayed Occupancy Form must be filed within one year of possession or occupancy. Put day 41, day 183 and day 365 in your calendar on possession day, with a reminder 30 days before each one.

British Columbia claims. A BC claim runs to the warranty insurer named in the policy, under the policy terms. The controlling dates are the sub-period ends: 12 or 15 months for the general materials and labour layer, 24 months for systems and cladding, 5 years for the envelope, and 10 years for structure. Read the policy for its notice rules on the day you receive it. A defect in a delivery system discovered in month 25 belongs to a layer that closed in month 24.

Alberta claims. An Alberta claim runs to the warranty provider named on the home's documents. The provider works with the builder to correct covered defects. The Construction Performance Guide for New Home Warranty in Alberta sets the performance expectations used to assess whether a condition counts as a defect. Disputes between a homeowner and a provider follow the provincial claims and dispute routes described by the Government of Alberta. The same calendar rule applies: 1, 2, 5 and 10 year ends, with the envelope end at 5 or 7 years depending on the coverage the builder bought.

Quebec claims. GCR sets a staged process. Report the problem to the contractor in writing first, using the complaint form, with a copy to GCR. Wait at least 15 days before opening a claim case. If the contractor does not resolve the problem, file the claim form with GCR and the required file-opening deposit, which GCR publishes at $114.98 including taxes and refunds if the decision is fully or partly in the buyer's favour or the parties settle. The contractor then has a further period to state its intended measures, and a GCR conciliator inspects, decides, and verifies the corrective work. Quebec also imposes a reasonableness clock inside the fixed periods: non-apparent poor workmanship and latent defects must be reported in writing within a reasonable time after discovery, and arbitration practice treats roughly six months as the outer edge of reasonable in most cases. Discovery, not acceptance alone, can start that clock.

Four habits protect a claim in any province. Report in writing and keep the delivery record. Photograph defects with dates, and photograph them again as they change. Do not authorize your own repair of a disputed defect before the program inspects it, unless the repair is urgent mitigation such as stopping active water ingress, and document that urgency. Finally, track the resale transfer rules if you sell: remaining coverage passes to the buyer in all four programs, and handing over the warranty documents is part of delivering what you advertised.

If your province has no mandatory program

Buyers in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Atlantic provinces, and the territories do not get a program like the four above from provincial law on the sources used for this guide. Voluntary warranty programs run by builder associations and insurers operate in some of those markets, and some builders enrol homes voluntarily. Voluntary coverage is only as good as its contract, and it does not exist at all if the builder never enrolled your home. The buyer's protection has to be built at signing.

• Ask the enrolment question in writing. Is this home enrolled in any warranty program? Which provider, what periods, what limits, and what is the claim route? An answer that cannot name a provider and a policy is a no.
• Put defect duties in the contract. Specify that the builder will correct defects in work and materials reported within a defined period after possession, define how notice is given, and set a repair timeline with a remedy if the builder does not perform. General advice only: have a local real estate lawyer draft or review this wording before you sign, not after a defect appears.
• Use a deficiency holdback where your lawyer advises one is available. A holdback keeps a defined amount back at closing until listed deficiencies are corrected. Availability, amount and release rules vary by province and by contract type, and statutory holdbacks in construction law protect lien claimants rather than buyers in many provinces. Do not assume a holdback exists. Ask for one expressly if protection at closing matters to you.
• Buy your own inspection twice. A pre-closing inspection by an independent inspector, plus a second inspection near the end of any contractual defect period, replaces part of what a mandatory program's forms force in Ontario and Quebec. Dated inspection reports are evidence in any later dispute.
• Hold your own paper file. Contract, change orders, upgrade selections, correspondence, inspection reports, photos, and manufacturer warranties, in one folder from signing. In a contract dispute, the file is the case.

None of that equals a mandatory program with a provider standing behind the builder. Price the difference. A new home with no enforceable warranty in a voluntary province carries a risk that a comparable home in Calgary, Kelowna, the GTA or a covered Quebec project does not, and the price should reflect it.

Frequently asked questions

Is new-home warranty mandatory across Canada?

No. There is no national program. Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec each run a mandatory program by provincial law, with different structures, limits and claim routes. In the other provinces and territories, coverage depends on whether the builder voluntarily enrolled the home and on the terms of the purchase contract.

What does Ontario's Tarion warranty cover in years 1, 2 and 7?

Year 1 covers defects in work and materials, fitness for habitation, Ontario Building Code compliance, and unauthorized substitutions. Year 2 covers water penetration, defects in the electrical, plumbing and heating systems, and envelope and cladding items. Years 3 to 7 cover major structural defects. Tarion publishes overall limits of $400,000 for a freehold home and $300,000 for a condominium unit.

How much deposit protection does Tarion provide?

For a freehold home priced at $600,000 or less, up to $60,000. Above $600,000, 10% of the purchase price to a maximum of $100,000. Upgrades and extras count inside the limit, and reservation payments made before a purchase agreement is signed do not. For condominiums, deposits are held in trust under the Condominium Act, with a Tarion backstop of up to $20,000 if the deposit was not placed in trust.

What does BC's 2-5-10 warranty actually mean?

Two years on materials and labour with sub-periods of 12 months for detached homes and strata non-common property, 15 months for strata common property, and 24 months for major systems, cladding, windows and doors. Five years on the building envelope, including unintended water penetration. Ten years on structural defects. BC Housing publishes claim limits of $200,000 for a detached home and $100,000 for a strata unit, each capped at the first owner's purchase price if that is lower.

What is Alberta's 1-2-5-10 coverage?

One year for labour and materials, 2 years for delivery and distribution systems such as electrical, plumbing and heating, 5 years for the building envelope with an optional 2-year extension the builder can buy, and 10 years for major structural components. The program is mandatory for homes with building permits applied for on or after February 1, 2014. Alberta publishes minimum limits of $265,000 for a single-family home and $130,000 for a condominium or multi-family unit.

Does Quebec cover every new condominium under GCR?

No. The mandatory GCR plan covers single-family houses, condominium buildings of no more than four stacked private portions, and small undivided co-ownership buildings of two to five units. A condominium tower above four stacked units is outside the mandatory plan. After acceptance, coverage runs 1 year for non-apparent poor workmanship, 3 years for latent defects, and 5 years after the end of work for faulty design, construction or ground conditions.

What is not covered by a new-home warranty?

Normal wear and tear, damage caused by the owner or by owner-supplied materials and design, cosmetic preferences, landscaping and site grading, buildings outside the program rules, and repairs above the program's dollar limit. Manufacturer warranties on appliances and equipment run separately. The most costly exclusion in practice is procedural: a covered defect reported after its period ends.

Does new-home warranty transfer when I sell?

Yes, in all four mandatory programs the remaining coverage continues with the home. BC Housing and the Government of Alberta state that the warranty is attached to the home rather than the owner. GCR states that its guarantee transfers to the new owner for the remainder of the term. Tarion advises buyers of a home under 7 years old that they may still be eligible for coverage and assistance. Hand the buyer your warranty documents at sale.

Sources

Coverage periods, limits, forms and claim steps in this guide were taken from the program sources below, read in October 2026. Your policy, guarantee certificate and purchase agreement govern your own home.

• Tarion, deposit protection explained: https://www.tarion.com/media/how-does-deposit-protection-work-new-homes
• Tarion, claim forms and timelines: https://www.tarion.com/claim-forms-timelines
• Tarion, coverage before you close (delayed closing compensation): https://www.tarion.com/coverage-before-you-close
• BC Housing, home warranty insurance on new homes: https://www.bchousing.org/licensing-consumer-services/new-homes/home-warranty-insurance-new-homes
• Government of Alberta, new home warranty overview: https://www.alberta.ca/new-home-warranty-overview
• Garantie de construction résidentielle (GCR), buyer FAQ: https://www.garantiegcr.com/en/buyer/frequently-asked-questions/
• Garantie de construction résidentielle (GCR), buildings covered: https://www.garantiegcr.com/en/buyer/buildings-covered/

Program rules change. Confirm limits and deadlines on the source for your province before relying on any date in this guide.