Steve Payne
What are your views on the new Alberta Renovation Warranty Program?
Canadian ContractorThe new program offers $100,000 in deposit insurance and $100,000 on materials and labour. Contractors are, allegedly, rigorously screened.
The Alberta Renovation Warranty Program bills itself as first renovation warranty program of its type in Canada. Read about it here. There’s a link on that page for builders, and a link for homeowners.
$100,000 in homeowner deposit insurance?
$100,000 in materials and labour insurance on renovations?
If this works, it will be proof positive that the public – at least in Wild Rose Country – has become so bat-sh*t scared about hiring contractors that they will buy specific renovation-performance insurance products to protect themselves.
In commercial construction, like public works and roadbuilding, of course, contractors have to post Performance Bonds in the tens of millions of dollars if they submit a bid on a project. Maybe it IS time for this in our industry. Let us know what you think…
Read more about the program here in the Calgary Herald.
Comments?
Advertisement
Print this page
I don’t think this Renovation Warranty Program will help home owners at all. Several reasons why are that if it is administered by the New Home Warranty it will get the same results.
I’ve worked for clients that have had their new home leak and lead to extensive wood rot because of poor building envelope work built during a boom by a (MAJOR) Calgary Home Builder which led to major renovation costs. They got nothing but a run around and excuses from the builder. There are many people in the same situation, in fact I believe there is a major story here most media do not want to address.
Also the stringent application requirements they have to weed out any renovation contractors will probably narrow down the choices by 95% or more of contractors that would be accepted into the program.
Home owners should probably then be prepared to spend about 40% more for their renovation if a contractor can possibly meet those high standards.
If they exclude that many contractors by their extreme selection process I would hazard a guess there wouldn’t be much point in needing a warranty then anyway.
Honestly this is a money grab because they have gone to great effort to limit their liability right from the start.
A little off track but what I like best about most new home builders is that they are continually building a renovation market for the future.