Overview
The Residential Protection Program (RPP) licenses residential builders and makes sure new homes have warranty coverage. The program works under the authority of the New Home Buyer Protection Act (NHBPA), which applies to new homes built after January 2014 and to residential builders licensed after November 2017.
If a member of the public believes a person or business has not followed provincial warranty or builder licensing requirements, they can file a complaint with the RPP. The program reviews these complaints to determine compliance with the legislation. If a person or business is thought to be noncompliant, staff may investigate and take appropriate actions.
A person who submits a complaint has to identify what category their complaint falls under and provide evidence to support their allegations. Before filing a formal complaint, try to resolve the problem directly with the builder, warranty provider, or other parties involved.
Types of complaints
The RPP can review complaints about:
- building a new home without a builder licence or owner builder authorization
- building, selling, or offering to sell a new home without providing mandatory new home warranty
- not following the legislated defect definitions or protection period requirements
- failing to comply with a builder licensing condition
The RPP cannot:
- provide legal advice
- provide compensation
- act as an advocate or mediator for complainants
- conduct warranty claim inspections or validate defects
- make decisions on warranty claims or resolve claims disputes
- look into complaints about renovators or trades who are not licensed builders
- review complaints that are outside of the authority of the program
Other types of complaints
Complaints about other home warranty and builder issues are addressed by different organizations, as shown below.
| Type of complaint | Contact |
|---|---|
| My new home has defects and/or my builder is not fixing the defects. | Warranty Provider |
| I am not satisfied with my warranty provider’s decision on my claim. OR My warranty provider has denied my claim but I think it should be covered under my warranty policy. | Contact information available through the Superintendent of Insurance: resolving your insurance claim complaint |
| I have strong, evidence-based concerns about the immediate structural safety of my new home. | Municipality or local Safety Codes Officer Warranty Provider Qualified Professional (Engineer, Architect, Licensed Home Inspector) |
| My home is under construction and I have evidence it is not being built to the building safety codes. | Municipality or local Safety Codes Officer |
| My builder did not provide what they agreed to in our contract. | Builder, Lawyer |
| My builder has committed fraud, theft, assault, or any other criminal act. | Local police or RCMP |
| My builder promised to deliver something they knew was not possible or another type of unfair business practice. | Service Alberta, Consumer Protection Unit |
| I have concerns about the safety codes inspection and permitting process that occurred during construction. | Municipality Safety Codes Council |
| I have concerns about an agent/home inspector I hired to help with my warranty claim. | Service Alberta, Consumer Protection Unit |
Builder licensing decisions
The RPP can suspend, cancel or refuse to issue a residential builder licence if the builder:
- is ineligible for a builder licence or fails to meet licensing terms
- makes a false statement on their application or refuses to provide information
- fails to comply with a condition or restriction on their builder licence
- was issued a licence in error
- fails to comply with an order, pay a penalty or is convicted of an offence under one or more of the following:
- New Home Buyer Protection Act
- Condominium Property Act
- Consumer Protection Act
- Occupational Health and Safety Act
- Safety Codes Act
- Workers’ Compensation Act
Complaint submission
When submitting a complaint to the RPP, include:
- your name and contact information (phone/email)
- information about the home (address, municipality, builder, warranty provider, year built)
- the subject of your complaint (builder, warranty provider, real estate professional, municipality, other)
- description of your complaint
- what outcome you hope to obtain
Submit complaints to [email protected].
Complaint review process
Step 1
A compliance officer reviews the complaint to determine if it is within the scope of the program. If it is not, the officer will return the complaint to the complainant and recommend another course of action, if appropriate.
Step 2
While reviewing a complaint, the RPP may contact the complainant, warranty provider, residential builder, local authority, real-estate agent, or any other person to obtain or verify information.
Step 3
A compliance officer will determine whether there is evidence of noncompliance with the NHBPA and regulations. If there is no evidence of noncompliance, the RPP will notify the complainant and may provide information about other programs or jurisdictions.
Step 4
If there is evidence of noncompliance, the compliance officer will further investigate to determine an appropriate compliance or enforcement action.
Timelines for investigations vary from case to case and updates regarding an ongoing investigation will not be provided.
Contact
Connect with the Residential Protection Program:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-644-1010 (within Canada and United States)
Toll free: 1-866-421-6929 (within Canada)
Email: [email protected]