Home

Books

Land

Mortgages

Insurance

Timber Frames

Warranty

Links

10 Year Structural Warranty

If you are self building a new house then it is important to make sure that the self build work has a guarantee or ‘warranty’. This type of cover ( the best known product is the National Housebuilding Council’s NHBC BuildMark and Zurich Municipal Custom Build) is technically known as latent structural defects liability insurance. It promises to pay out in the event of any repairs necessary due to faulty design, materials or workmanship. Essentially, it covers the risks that are not included within standard buildings insurance, which only provides general protection against accidental damage.

All the Building Societies and Banks require newly built houses to have a structural warranty and guarentee. This is also peace of mind for Selfbuilders knowing that the house will have been constructed correctly. The 10 year warranty, in the past, has been either NHBC ( buildmark or solo ), Zurich Municipal ( custom build ) or architects certificates.

A newcomer to the structural warranty market is Self-build Zone. Issued by the same insurance company behind the BuildStore product, Self-build Zone offers an alternative warranty that does not require inspections by either a supervising professional or an independent surveyor. Instead the Self-build Zone product relies solely upon the inspections made by local authority building control officers. The premium for cover is £850 for a new build or conversion project with a rebuild cost of up to £400,000.” Click on the banner below for more information.