New build warranty questions answered

A structural warranty, sometimes called latent defects insurance, that protects the owners of a new home against the cost of putting right defects in the structure for 10 or 12 years from completion. It is provided by a warranty provider or insurer, each home gets its own certificate, and the policy wording sets out exactly what is covered and for how long.

Typically damage caused by defects in the foundations, load-bearing walls and frame, floors and roof structure, and on many policies the weather envelope such as roof coverings, render, cladding, windows and doors. Wear and tear, maintenance and finishes are usually excluded. The provider's policy wording sets out the detail.

Most policies run for 10 years from completion, and some providers offer 12. Many split the period into a builder's defects period, usually the first two years, and a structural insurance period for the rest.

Yes. It stays with the home, so anyone who buys it later benefits for whatever is left of the policy period.

In most cases no law says a new home must have one. In practice most mortgage lenders expect a warranty from a provider they accept, or in some cases a professional consultant's certificate, so a home without either can be hard to sell or remortgage.

Before work starts on site. The provider needs to register the site and see the foundations before they are covered. Registering early is simpler, cheaper and leaves more providers to choose from.

Often, yes, although the provider will want evidence of the work it did not see and the price is usually higher - around 1.25% of the rebuild cost rather than around 1% (with no broker fee on top - we are paid by commission from the provider). For homes well advanced or finished, see our sister brand Retrospective Warranties.

Yes. A self-build home is registered before you start and inspected as you build, in the same way as a developer's homes. Your self-build lender will often want it. See self-build warranties.

Each plot normally needs to be registered before work on it starts. On a phased site you can usually register each phase as it is released. See estates and phased sites.

Each lender decides which providers it accepts. Most follow the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook and add their own requirements. We check that a provider is likely to be accepted by the lenders your buyers will use before you commit, but each lender makes the final decision. See mortgage lender rules.

No. Building control checks the work against minimum legal standards at certain points. It is not insurance and does not pay for defects found later. Lenders normally expect a warranty or consultant's certificate as well.

Usually evidence that the plot is registered before exchange, often an initial certificate or cover note, and the final certificate for the home at completion.

If you sell new homes with a warranty, your provider will usually expect you to follow a consumer code such as the Consumer Code for Home Builders or the New Homes Quality Code. See consumer codes.

The owner of the home at the time makes the claim, to the warranty provider or insurer named on the certificate. In the builder's defects period the builder is usually asked to put things right first.

As a rough guide, around 1% of the rebuild cost for new homes registered before work starts, and around 1.25% once the build is under way (with no broker fee on top - we are paid by commission from the provider). Minimum premiums can make a single home or self-build work out higher. See new build warranty cost.

There is no broker fee to pay. We are paid by commission from the warranty provider, which is included in the premium.

No. Newbuild Warranties is an insurance broker - a trading style of Latent Defects, a trading name of Finance Delta Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. We arrange cover on a non-advised basis, and the warranty is provided by the provider or insurer named in your quotation.

To start, the site address, the number and type of homes, the total build cost and your planned start date. Providers will then want planning permission, plans and elevations, structural calculations and a ground investigation report. See how it works.