A structural warranty is a guarantee against structural defects in the first 10 years from completion of your new home.

An architect’s cover lasts for 6 years while a warranty lasts for 10 years. If something goes wrong, you’ll need to sue your architect to claim on their professional indemnity insurance. A structural warranty has an underlying insurance policy which you can claim on should the worst happen.

The professional consultant certificates that your architect will issue at each stage are essentially signing off work to the minimum standard. Whereas with a warranty, an independent surveyor will issue a certificate which states that works meet the specific higher standard of work acceptable to the warranty provider.

Yes it covers all projects. Although, a structural warranty may not be applicable if you’re renovating an existing residential property, but not carrying out any structural work. However, if you’re converting a commercial property into a residential dwelling, it would be strongly recommended that you have a warranty in place, with most mortgage lenders insisting on this.

The first warranty inspection is required before the concrete is poured for your foundations and so it’s best to have your warranty in place at least a two weeks before works start, so you can book in your first inspection in plenty of time and not delay any works.

Primarily the cost of a warranty is based on the square meterage of the property – the bigger your home, the higher the premium.

But there are also some key factors that can affect the cost, for example a basement will double the cost of the warranty, a flat roof can be expensive to cover as water can sit on them and ingress into the house.

The inspector will carry out their final inspection of works for the warranty and also building control if this is included. You will receive your building control completion certificate and this is sent to the warranty provider along with the valuer’s report, they will do their final assessment of the case and then issue you with a final stage certificate and start the 10 year guarantee.

There is a big cost saving to be made. If you go through your local council it could cost around £600 - £700, whereas with our warranty it’s around £250. Also, it’s a real time saver as you’ll only have one valuer visiting site for each stage.