Self-build warranties
Structural warranty cover for the home you are building yourself - registered before you start, inspected as you build and in place for your self-build lender and for whoever buys the house one day.
- Instant response
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your proposal
- UK FCA Regulated Broker
- No broker fee to pay
- Single plots to full estates
Self-build
Why self-builders need a structural warranty
A self-build warranty covers your new home against defects in the structure for 10 years from completion, or 12 with some providers. There are three good reasons to put one in place before you start.
- Your self-build lender. Self-build mortgages are usually released in stages as the build goes up, and lenders often want warranty cover or a professional consultant supervising the build before they release the money.
- Selling or remortgaging later. For the first 10 years or so, a buyer's lender, or your own lender when you remortgage, will usually want to see a warranty or a consultant's certificate for the house.
- Protection for you. Structural defects can take years to show. A warranty means the cost of putting them right does not fall on you alone.
How it works
How self-build cover fits around your build
Register before you start
The provider registers your plot before any work on site, so its surveyor can see the foundations before they are covered. Arranging cover after you have started is harder and costs more.
Inspections as you build
The provider's surveyor visits at key stages such as foundations, walls and roof. The inspections are separate from your lender's stage valuations, but we can help you plan them so neither holds the other up.
A final certificate
Once the house is finished and passes the final inspection, the provider issues the final certificate. Keep it with your deeds - a buyer's conveyancer will ask for it.
Ways to self-build
However you are building your home
- Self-managed builds, where you hire the trades yourself
- Kit, timber frame and panelised package homes
- Homes built for you by a main contractor on your own plot
- Custom build plots on serviced sites
- Replacement dwellings where an old house is demolished and rebuilt
What a self-build warranty costs
As a rough guide a structural warranty costs around 1% of the rebuild cost for a new home registered before work starts (with no broker fee on top - we are paid by commission from the provider). For a single self-build home, the provider's minimum premium and fixed inspection fees often mean the total works out at a higher percentage than that. See new build warranty costs.
Already started your self-build? Our sister brand Retrospective Warranties specialises in cover for homes under way or finished.
Self-build warranty questions
Does my self-build mortgage lender need a structural warranty?
Many do. Lenders vary, but they often want either a structural warranty or a professional consultant to supervise and certify the build before they release all the stage payments. Check your mortgage offer, and ask us early so the warranty does not hold up your first release.
Can I use an architect's certificate instead of a warranty?
Some lenders accept a professional consultant's certificate from an architect, surveyor or engineer who monitors the build. Lenders vary on when they will accept one, and a future buyer's lender may take a different view from yours, which is why many self-builders choose a warranty.
Can a kit or timber frame package home be covered?
Usually, yes. Providers will want the package supplier's design and structural details. For less familiar systems some providers ask for evidence of independent assessment before they will quote.
What happens to the warranty if I sell the house?
It normally stays with the property. A buyer, and anyone who owns the house after them, benefits for whatever is left of the policy period.
Get a self-build warranty quote
Tell us where your plot is, how you are building and when you plan to start. We will come back with the providers likely to cover your home.
- Takes under a minute
- Instant reply by email with your reference
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your completed proposal
- Sites anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Free and no obligation
Already filled in a proposal form? Email it to us or send it on WhatsApp with any drawings you have and we will take it from there.
