Regulations Amended – New Heritage Conversion Exclusion from Warranty Insurance Now in Place
Homeowner Protection Act regulations related to heritage conversions and the mediation of residential construction disputes have been amended.
Heritage Conversions
The Homeowner Protection Act Regulation, B.C. Reg 29/99, was amended to make the wording consistent with recent amendments to the Homeowner Protection Act which transferred responsibilities to BC Housing. In addition, a new exclusion to policies of home warranty insurance has been added to Section 10 of the regulation – namely components of a converted heritage building that have heritage value and do not conform to the BC Building Code. A definition of “designated heritage building” has also been added to provide clarification. This new exclusion from home warranty insurance addresses the concern that heritage features, particularly original windows, should be retained, but often could not because of concerns by warranty providers that they will be liable under the policy for these features not performing up to current building code standards.
Mediation
The Notice to Mediate (Residential Construction) Regulation, B.C. Reg 152/99, has been amended to correspond with changes to the Supreme Court Civil Council Rules. The changes to this regulation are primarily housekeeping and not substantive in nature.
The amended Homeowner Protection Act regulations can be viewed on the Acts and regulations page of the HPO website.
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