New legislation seeks to protect homebuyers
New home warranties to be mandated by the province
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/10/2011 (5455 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Proposed legislation regarding newly constructed homes is being applauded by Headingley-raised realtor Allan Asplin.
Family Services and Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh recently proposed new legislation which would provide warranty protection addressing defects and construction problems on new homes in Manitoba.
In a provincial press release Mackintosh said the goal of this legislation is to ensure new homebuyers have the same form of protection currently provided in provinces such as British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
“A new home is the largest single expenditure most consumers ever make and we think it’s important to require all new homes to come with a built-in warrant from a warranty company,” he said.
Asplin, a team leader at Judy Lindsay Team Realty, said it isn’t unheard of for new home purchasers to experience problems with their newly constructed homes after they move in.
“From a consumer standpoint regulating the warranty on a new home is a great idea,” he said. “A lot of times people go buy a new house without a warranty and have nothing to fall back on if there is a problem with the construction.”
Asplin added that even when there is a warranty on a new home, he still hears complaints from his clients.
“Even when a new home has a warranty, the issue we hear from clients is they have difficulty getting the builder to come back and fix the problem with the home,” Asplin said. “A lot of the times clients will have to wait a year or two before the problem gets fixed.”
According to the provincial press release, only four companies in Manitoba currently offer warranties on new home construction. Winnipeg based Global Homes Ltd. is one of those four companies and the developer and home builder is currently in the process of developing 38 lots in Sanford.
Company president Bernhard Goertzen says that his company currently offers a one-year full warranty which is followed by a five-year structural warranty.
He said that this kind of warranty is common among reputable builders in the province.
“This is a standard offer provided by established builders,” Goertzen explained. “This proposed legislation wouldn’t really effect our company, but it would probably effect the smaller companies around the province.”
The provincial press release stated that the government trying to establish a minimum amount of warranty coverage, the length of warranty periods, and the defects coverage during each warranty period by talking to public and the industry.
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