What happens to a new build home warranty when I sell the house?

Full answer

New build warranties are an important form of protection for homebuyers, and understanding how they transfer on sale matters both to sellers and to anyone buying a relatively recently built home. **What a new build warranty covers** Structural warranty providers such as NHBC, Premier Guarantee, LABC Warranty, and others typically provide cover for a set period, commonly 10 years from the date the home was completed, split into different phases -- an initial period (often around the first two years) where the builder is responsible for fixing most defects, followed by a longer period covering major structural issues such as problems with foundations, load-bearing walls, or the roof structure. **The warranty transfers with the property, not the original owner** Because the warranty is designed to protect the building itself, rather than being a personal benefit tied to the original buyer, it automatically transfers to each subsequent owner for the remainder of the original warranty period when the property is sold -- there is generally no need to re-register or pay again for the warranty to continue covering a new owner. **Checking remaining warranty years when buying a resale new-build** If you are buying a home that was built relatively recently (within the last 10 years or so), it is worth checking how many years of the original structural warranty remain, since this can be a genuinely valuable protection -- your conveyancing solicitor should confirm the warranty details, provider, and remaining term as part of the standard conveyancing process. **Why mortgage lenders often require a valid warranty** Many mortgage lenders require new-build and recently built properties to have a valid structural warranty in place (or specific alternative protections) as a condition of lending, since it reduces the lender's risk of the security property suffering from serious, uninsured structural defects -- this is another reason the remaining warranty term matters when buying or selling a relatively new property. **What is not covered** Structural warranties typically do not cover normal wear and tear, cosmetic issues, or defects arising from poor maintenance by an owner -- they are focused specifically on genuine structural and construction defects arising from how the property was originally built. **Worked example** Someone buys a house that was built six years ago with a 10-year NHBC warranty. The remaining four years of structural cover transfer automatically to them as the new owner, continuing to protect against major structural defects for that remaining period. **Practical tip** Ask your solicitor to confirm the exact warranty provider, start date, and remaining term in writing during conveyancing, since this detail is easy to overlook but can be valuable protection, particularly for homes built within the last decade.

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