In the summer of 2021, 118 local families saw their lives derailed. The announcement of the bankruptcy of contractor Bel-Habitat meant the loss of their down payments on what was to be their brand-new home, down payments totaling $777,000 for a total of $17 million! Fortunately, thanks to the guarantee plan put in place in 2015 and administered by Garantie de construction résidentielle, GCR, they won’t have lost everything. Read our article and see the importance of a new home warranty plan and all that it includes.

For a new single-family home to be covered by the GCR guarantee plan, the contractor must hold a valid contractor’s license with at least one of the subcategories 1.1.1 or 1.1.2 and, of course, be accredited with the GCR. Fortunately, to simplify the process, the GCR makes available its directory of accredited companies, which you can consult on their website.

But how exactly does the new home guarantee plan protect you?

First of all, choosing a GCR-accredited contractor guarantees you quality service. Did you know, for example, that the GCR verifies a whole range of criteria about the contractors it accredits, and gives you access to this information? This way, you can learn more about the contractor before you make your choice. You’ll know how many years the company has been accredited, how many jobsites it has completed and inspected, what non-conformities it has observed over the past two years, how many claims files it has recognized, what arbitration decisions it has rendered, if any, and much more!

There’s also the question of down payments. It’s common practice for a contractor to ask for a deposit before starting construction. However, before you sign a blank cheque, you should know that GCR covers the maximum amount of $50,000 should a problem arise, as happened with the Bel-Habitat contractor. If you decide to make a down payment in excess of this amount, the surplus may never be recovered…

What’s more, in the event of a delay in delivery, you could benefit from compensation of up to $6,000 to cover the cost of relocating and storing your belongings.

But it gets better! If problems arise after construction, you could be covered for up to $300,000 for a single-family home.

After all, with the GCR new home guarantee plan, you benefit from up to 5 years’ protection on various building components. For example, existing defects that are not apparent are covered for a period of one year, hidden defects (construction defects, not apparent, that predate acceptance of the property and render it unfit for its intended use, or so diminish its usefulness that the buyer would not have purchased it, or would not have given such a high price, if he had known about them) for a total of 3 years and major defects that compromise the structural stability of the dwelling, structural elements such as foundations, load-bearing walls, framing, etc., for a total of for a total of 5 years after delivery of the house.

So, if you’re thinking of buying a new home, choose your contractor wisely and, above all, have your home inspected by a professional before you take delivery. You can learn more about the importance of this inspection on our website.