NHBC Warranty

The National House Building Council, also know as the NHBC, is the largest provider of new home warranties in the UK, in addition to being the UK’s largest single Approved Inspector for building regulations. The NHBC offers a Buildmark warranty that lasts up to 10 years after the legal completion date, starting from the exchange of contracts. The Buildmark warranty can be broken down into three stages, pre-completion, years 0-2 and years 3-10.

Stages

During the first stage, the warranty provides insurance protection in the event that you lose your deposit due to your builder becoming insolvent and unable to complete your home, paying up to 10% of the original purchase price or £100,000, whichever is lowest.

Within the first two years after the legal completion of the building, the builder provides the initial warranty as well as agreeing to repair any defects to the building that aren’t due to general wear and tear or maintenance issues.

Once the initial warranty from the builder has ended, there is an additional 8 years of insurance, up to a max of 10 years from the completion date. NHBC will provide insurance protection if your home suffers any damage resulting from the builder failing to build any part of your home to NHBC standards. In addition to this, NHBC also provides insurance for contaminated land if you a receive a statutory notice for your land or one could be issued due to the condition of your land.

Minimum Claim Value After The Warranty Has Expired

There is not a policy excess applied to the Buildmark so that you don’t have to pay the first part of the claim to NHBC. Instead of this, NHBC operates a minimum claim value, MCV, which means that if the cost of your valid claim exceeds the MCV, then NHBC will do the work or pay the cost in full and you will not have to make any contribution. However, if the cost of your claim does not exceed the MCV NHBC will not do any work or pay any costs. The precise MCV applicable to your home will depend on how old the policy is but for policies starting on or after 1 April 2019, the MCV is £1,750, increasing by £50 on 1 April in each subsequent year.

Areas Covered

Once the insurance period after the builder warranty is over, Buildmark is designed to protect your home from damages caused due to the property not being built to NHBC requirement. The following is a list of what the Buildmark typically covers and a list of what it doesn’t cover.

Included

  • Glazing- double or triple glazing panes to outside windows & doors
  • Flutes & chimneys
  • Access- access steps to the house
  • Roofs
  • Walls- external cladding, render & vertical tile hanging
  • Ceilings- ceilings, balconies & load-bearing parts of floors
  • Stairs- stairs, floor decking & screeds that are unable to support            normal loads
  • Foundations-foundations & below ground drainage that you are            responsible for

Excluded

  • Storms, fires & flooding- covered by building & contents insurance
  • Wear and tear, neglect and failure to do proper maintenance
  • Roof covering damage, unless it causes water entering the home
  • Changes in colour, texture or staining of external finishes
  • Replacing solar panels or tiles solely due to not generating heat or        electricity
  • Cracking/spalling/mortar erosion that doesn’t impair the structural      stability or weather protection
  • Additional work done after completion that isn’t a result of the              builder’s responsibilities

Included

  • Foundations-foundations & below ground drainage that you are responsible for
  • Walls- external cladding, render & vertical tile hanging
  • Ceilings- ceilings, balconies & load-bearing parts of floors
  • Stairs- stairs, floor decking & screeds that are unable to support normal loads
  • Glazing- double or triple glazing panes to outside windows & doors
  • Flutes & chimneys
  • Access- access steps to the house
  • Roofs

Excluded

  • Storms, fires & flooding- covered by building & contents insurance
  • Wear and tear, neglect and failure to do proper maintenance
  • Roof covering damage, unless it causes water entering the home
  • Changes in colour, texture or staining of external finishes
  • Replacing solar panels or tiles solely due to not generating heat or electricity
  • Cracking/spalling/mortar erosion that doesn’t impair the structural stability or            weather protection
  • Additional work done after completion that isn’t a result of the builder’s                       responsibilities

Included

  • Flutes & chimneys
  • Access- access steps to the house
  • Roofs
  • Foundations-foundations & below               ground drainage that you are                         responsible for
  • Walls- external cladding, render &                  vertical tile hanging
  • Ceilings- ceilings, balconies & load-               bearing parts of floors
  • Stairs- stairs, floor decking & screeds           that are unable to support normal loads
  • Glazing- double or triple glazing panes          to outside windows & doors

Excluded

  • Storms, fires & flooding- covered by              building & contents insurance
  • Wear and tear, neglect and failure to do      proper maintenance
  • Roof covering damage, unless it causes        water entering the home
  • Changes in colour, texture or staining of      external finishes
  • Replacing solar panels or tiles solely due     to not generating heat or electricity
  • Cracking/spalling/mortar erosion that         doesn’t impair the structural stability or       weather protection
  • Additional work done after completion       that isn’t a result of the builder’s                   responsibilities