EDMONTON – In a long-awaited move to bolster the residential construction industry, the Stelmach government has announced a plan to require all home builders to provide warranties and has dramatically hiked maximum fines for building code violations.
The moves, recommended in a government report three years ago in response to complaints of leaking and rotting homes and condos, are expected to take effect as early as next year.
“Consumers need to know they will be protected when making what can be the biggest purchase of their lives,” said Service Alberta Minister Heather Klimchuk Tuesday.
Municipal Affairs Minister Hec Goudreau had tipped the Herald two weeks ago that he was preparing to make new home warranties mandatory in response to complaints that some homes being constructed during Alberta booms were not being built to Alberta Building Code standards.
The Alberta branch of the Canadian Home Builders Association has endorsed mandatory new home warranties saying the change would ensure builders are accountable and responsible for their work and it would force disreputable builders out of business.
“The vast majority of homes in Alberta are built well and stand the test of time,” Goudreau said. “But we want to make sure that we have all the tools in place to address those instances where issues do arise.”
Goudreau defended the delay in making the changes, saying the province “didn’t want a Band-Aid solution.”
Municipal Affairs spokeswoman Donna Babchishin said the province is boosting the maximum penalty for building code violations to $100,000 from $15,000 for first offence and to $500,000 from $30,000 for a second violation.
The province has also increased the statute of limitations for charges to be laid to three years after a homeowner takes possession of a new house.
The government has also directed the Alberta Safety Codes Council to review Alberta’s building inspection system and to provide additional building envelope training to all safety codes officers in the province within a year.
Calgary Herald
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