You’re in good hands - The LABC Warranty claims process

Are you a home owner trying to make a claim?

If you would like to use your LABC Warranty policy to file a claim to remedy and issue in your new home, you can start that process on this page and access the Claim Notification Portal.

Before you start your claim, be sure to find your Certificate of Insurance from LABC Warranty. If you can’t locate this document, please get in touch to request a replacement.

With this information in hand, the claim portal will guide you through the process, requesting more information about you, your home, and the defect about which you’re contacting us.

You will have a chance to describe the issue in detail, supply imagery to support that description, and from there LABC Warranty will take over and assess the claim.

Before you submit your claim, it is worth noting that not all problems with a home are considered a defect – they may be considered a snag.

Snags are areas that may be unsatisfactory to you as a home owner, but don’t constitute a serious defect or threat to the property, and fall outside of the areas in which a claim can be made.

The snagging checklist, available here, will offer you more information on what LABC Warranty considers a snag.

For some issues relating to the purchase of your home, you may be eligible to complain through a consumer code affecting your property. Depending on your property, this may the Consumer Code for Home Builders, or the New Homes Quality Code.

If you’re a builder or developer and would like to know more about how we support you and your home buyers, keep reading below. 

How LABC Warranty protects your properties

LABC Warranty puts a premium on making sure home owners know their rights (and responsibilities) in their new homes. This is achieved on multiple fronts.

The first is during the home sales process itself. Properties covered by LABC Warranty will be offered copies of the LABC Warranty Showhome Brochure.

This Showhome Brochure is used the very first touchpoint between a home buyer and their prospective property to inform users on the benefits and protections afforded by a structural warranty.

Once moved in, new residents or owners will have access to the Homeowners’ Handbook. This guide goes into more details on the protection afforded by the warranty, along with other areas such as:

• A breakdown of what a structural warranty is, and what their structural warranty covers.
• Details on how their warranty works, the protections, and other important information.
• A guide to ‘running in’ a new home. The process by which a new home gets used to having residents living in it, just as residents adjust to living in the home.
• Guides to caring for the new home to minimise the chance of problems, such as guidance on controlling moisture and heat.
• DIY and maintenance information, both inside and outside the home.
• A robust list of possible defects that could be escalated through the process below.
• Details on consumer protection codes. All homes built under LABC Warranty protection are signed up to either the Consumer Code for Home Builders, or the New Homes Quality Board. Both offer additional rights for home buyers.

Despite all these protections, defects and claims can still happen. When they’re raised, LABC Warranty will receive, review, and where needed remedy these claims.

The claims process explained

A claim against one a property you have constructed will be assessed initially by our in-house teams, who will determine whether or not the claim is valid. From here, the next steps are determined by how long it’s been since your property was purchased.

The Defects Insurance Period

A home less than two years past completion will be subject to what’s known as the Defects Insurance Period, or DIP. During this time, claims against a property that are upheld will be paid by a developer or builder.

If a claim is found to be valid, but the developer disagrees, then LABC Warranty will provide a Dispute Resolution Service on behalf of the policy holder.

Failing any resolution here, LABC Warranty will cover the price of rectifying defects, and will pursue the developer for outstanding costs.

The Structural Insurance Period

Outside of the first two years, homes will fall into what’s known as the structural insurance period, or SIP.

During this period, developers and builders have no direct involvement in the claims process, in either the assessment or remedying stages.

Claims during this period will be assessed by LABC Warranty’s team, and any valid claims will be rectified by LABC Warranty, either directly or through payment for works to be carried out.

Questions about the process?

If you have any questions about LABC Warranty’s coverage, or would like LABC Warranty to cover your upcoming development, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d be more than happy to hear about any projects in your pipeline, and discuss the best way for LABC Warranty to help in delivering and protecting them.