If you're buying new construction in Manitoba, here's something most buyers don't realize until I tell them: the province doesn't require your builder to carry a new-home warranty at all.
That surprises people, because Ontario, BC, Alberta and Quebec all make it mandatory. Manitoba doesn't. A provincial warranty act was passed years back but never actually brought into force, and was later scrapped. So warranty here is voluntary — which means it's only as strong as the builder you choose to work with. That's not a reason to avoid new builds; it's a reason to ask better questions. Let me walk you through it.
The good news: most real builders carry it anyway
Voluntary doesn't mean rare. Most established Winnipeg builders carry third-party warranty because their customers expect it, and because the Manitoba Home Builders' Association requires its members to. A few programs you'll run into:
- The New Home Warranty Program of Manitoba — a Manitoba not-for-profit that's been doing this since the 1970s.
- Progressive Home Warranty, National Home Warranty, and WBI — private providers that operate across the western provinces.
The key word is third-party. A "builder's warranty" backed only by the builder is worth exactly as much as the builder's willingness and ability to honour it. Third-party coverage keeps protecting you even if the builder gets busy, walks away, or goes under — which is the whole point.
What the coverage actually looks like
Most third-party programs are built as a ladder of shrinking coverage over time. A typical 1-2-5-10 plan runs like this:
- Year 1 — workmanship and materials. The broadest year. Defects in how the home was built and what it was built with.
- Year 2 — the systems. Heating, electrical, and plumbing.
- Year 5 — the building envelope. The foundation, exterior walls, roof, windows and doors — specifically, defects that let water get in where it shouldn't.
- Year 10 — major structural. The load-bearing bones of the house.
Here's the catch, and it's a real one: not every Manitoba plan is the full ladder. Some are only "1 and 5" — one year on workmanship and five years on major structural, with nothing for the systems in Year 2 or the envelope at Year 5. Coverage caps vary too, commonly somewhere between $50,000 and $100,000 per home. Two builders can both say "we include a warranty" and be offering very different protection. Read the plan, not the brochure.
Most programs also protect your deposit (often up to around $25,000) if the builder fails to deliver — worth knowing when you're handing over real money before the house exists.
What warranty never covers
No new-home warranty covers everything. Across providers, these are consistently excluded:
- Landscaping, driveways, sidewalks, decks, sheds and fences
- Normal wear, shrinkage, and cosmetic stuff (small drywall cracks from settling, colour variation, window condensation)
- Damage from acts of nature — flooding, hail, storms
- Anything you supplied or installed yourself, and poor maintenance
- Contract disputes and items that were excluded from your build contract
This is why a new home still deserves a home inspection. "New" doesn't mean "flawless," and the warranty won't catch a sloppy finish that falls outside its definitions.
It travels with the house
One part that matters for resale: warranty stays with the home, not the first owner. Buy a two- or three-year-old house and the remaining coverage transfers to you automatically from the original possession date. If you're selling a nearly new home, dig out the warranty certificate or enrolment number — it's a genuine selling point. And if you're buying an ordinary resale home that's aged out of any warranty, there's none left, so lean on your inspection.
What I tell clients to ask before they sign
When a client is about to sign with a builder, this is my short list:
- Are you enrolled with a third-party warranty provider — not just your own builder's warranty? Which one?
- Which plan? The full 1-2-5-10, or a limited 1-and-5? What's the maximum payout per home?
- Is my deposit protected, and is it held in trust?
- Are you a member of the Manitoba Home Builders' Association?
- Will the home be enrolled before I take possession, and will I get the certificate at closing?
Two builders quoting similar prices can carry very different warranties behind them — and in a province where none of this is legally required, that difference is on you to check. If you also want to be sure the build was done to code, confirm the right City of Winnipeg permits were pulled and inspected along the way.
Buying new in Winnipeg is a great option — you just want to go in knowing the warranty is a choice your builder made, not a guarantee the province handed you. If you're weighing a new build against a resale, or comparing two builders, get in touch and I'll help you read what's really on the table.