Long-awaited protection for buyers of new homes is finally coming to Alberta, says the Minister of Municipal Affairs Hector Goudreau, he is looking at making new-home warranties mandatory in Alberta.
Great news....or is it? Will it make the residential industry better, or add protection to the homeowner as Mr. Goudreau claims? Not a chance. So then why would the government introduce legislation that will make home warranty mandatory in Alberta, there has to be a bigger picture here somewhere. How does mandatory warranty better protect the consumer when 95% of the Builders provide warranty already? Most homeowners cannot buy a home through their lending institutions unless the home is protected by warranty so the Builders voluntarily enrol with a warranty provider. So who benefits from mandatory warranty, it doesn’t help the Builders, it doesn’t help the homeowners so who will it protect? The only logical answer is the government itself. In 2008 a report was created called the Building Envelope Survey, a report that the government shelved. This report outlined major issues in the building industry, more specifically how our poor building practices in Alberta help contribute to the building envelope issues.
According to the Province of Alberta’s Fair Trading Act the Builder of a residential home is protected under the act if they are enrolled with a warranty provider, you legally cannot file a complaint against that Builder. Suing a Builder is almost out of the question and Builders know this, the President of a home builder I formerly worked for could often be heard saying “let them try and sue me, we’ll see who has deeper pockets”. That’s their attitude - let them try. It’s inconceivable that someone would take on the government over issues with their home but to ensure no one will the government will introduce legislation making warranty mandatory and according to the Fair Trading Act who will be held responsible.....the warranty provider.
Making warranty mandatory keeps the best interest of the Government of Alberta in mind and no one else. The government knew about issues with the building envelope of a new home back in 2002, nine years later there has still been no changes to the Alberta Building Code to address these issues. Making warranty mandatory will magically take care of these issues, please, there has been warranty in this province since 1974 and there are still major issues in this industry. So all of us Albertans who have been patiently waiting for protection our long-awaited answer is finally here, thanks Hector.
Great news....or is it? Will it make the residential industry better, or add protection to the homeowner as Mr. Goudreau claims? Not a chance. So then why would the government introduce legislation that will make home warranty mandatory in Alberta, there has to be a bigger picture here somewhere. How does mandatory warranty better protect the consumer when 95% of the Builders provide warranty already? Most homeowners cannot buy a home through their lending institutions unless the home is protected by warranty so the Builders voluntarily enrol with a warranty provider. So who benefits from mandatory warranty, it doesn’t help the Builders, it doesn’t help the homeowners so who will it protect? The only logical answer is the government itself. In 2008 a report was created called the Building Envelope Survey, a report that the government shelved. This report outlined major issues in the building industry, more specifically how our poor building practices in Alberta help contribute to the building envelope issues.
According to the Province of Alberta’s Fair Trading Act the Builder of a residential home is protected under the act if they are enrolled with a warranty provider, you legally cannot file a complaint against that Builder. Suing a Builder is almost out of the question and Builders know this, the President of a home builder I formerly worked for could often be heard saying “let them try and sue me, we’ll see who has deeper pockets”. That’s their attitude - let them try. It’s inconceivable that someone would take on the government over issues with their home but to ensure no one will the government will introduce legislation making warranty mandatory and according to the Fair Trading Act who will be held responsible.....the warranty provider.
Making warranty mandatory keeps the best interest of the Government of Alberta in mind and no one else. The government knew about issues with the building envelope of a new home back in 2002, nine years later there has still been no changes to the Alberta Building Code to address these issues. Making warranty mandatory will magically take care of these issues, please, there has been warranty in this province since 1974 and there are still major issues in this industry. So all of us Albertans who have been patiently waiting for protection our long-awaited answer is finally here, thanks Hector.
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