Glossary · UK
What is NHBC Warranty?
A new-build home warranty and insurance policy, most commonly provided by the National House Building Council, covering structural defects for up to ten years after completion.
Full Definition
An NHBC warranty (formally the NHBC Buildmark policy) is a combined warranty and insurance product provided by the National House Building Council, the largest of several organisations offering "structural warranty" cover on new-build and newly converted homes in the UK, typically running for ten years from legal completion. Cover is usually structured in stages: the first two years are typically the builder's responsibility to put right defects reported by the homeowner, backed by an NHBC-administered resolution service if a dispute arises with the builder, while years three to ten (sometimes called the "structural guarantee" period) provide insurance-backed cover directly from NHBC against major structural defects, such as problems with foundations, load-bearing walls or the roof structure, that emerge later. Mortgage lenders in the UK generally require a new-build property to have a recognised structural warranty, whether from NHBC or an alternative approved provider (such as Premier Guarantee, LABC Warranty or Build-Zone), before they will lend against it, because without one a defect discovered years later could otherwise leave both buyer and lender exposed with no easy recourse if the original builder has since gone out of business. Because the warranty is tied to the property rather than the original buyer, it automatically transfers to a new owner if the home is sold again within the original cover period, and buyers of a resale property that is still within its structural warranty term should check the remaining cover and whether the warranty documentation has been kept, since it can be a valuable selling point.