12-Month Warranty: We Don't Disappear After Handover
We publish our warranty in full — what is covered, what is not, and how to make a claim. Because you have a right to know exactly what you are getting, before you sign anything.
- Period
- 12 months
- Starts
- Key handover date
- Inspection fee
- None
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- The warranty runs 12 months from the key handover date, with no inspection fee.
- It covers structural defects, roof and plumbing leaks, electrical work, wet finishes, and doors, windows and cabinets.
- Wear and tear, later renovation, poor maintenance and branded appliances with their own warranty are excluded.
- To claim, WhatsApp us photos and a short description; a repair within the warranty is done at no charge.
- Your rights in law continue after the warranty: six years for a contract claim under the Limitation Act.
What is covered
- Structural defects
- Structural cracks, foundation movement, and failure of columns or beams caused by our work or materials.
- Roof leaks
- Leaks through the roof, its top finishes and joints, where the installation is our work.
- Plumbing & water system leaks
- Leaking pipes, failed joints and blocked drains caused by the installation.
- Electrical work
- The wiring, points, distribution board and earthing we installed.
- Wet finishes
- Tiles coming loose or sounding hollow, failed grout, and failure of the bathroom waterproofing layer.
- Doors, windows & cabinets
- Installation defects: doors out of level, windows not closing tight, cabinets out of line.
What is excluded
- Normal wear and tear, including paint fading from the weather.
- Damage caused by renovation, structural alteration or work by other contractors after handover.
- Damage caused by a failure of basic maintenance — blocked gutters, drains not cleaned.
- Branded appliances and goods that carry their own manufacturer's warranty (water heaters, air-conditioning units, kitchen appliances). The manufacturer's warranties are handed to you at key handover.
- Natural disasters, floods, fire, unusual ground movement, and damage that insurance should cover.
- Damage caused by improper use or accidents.
These exclusions are standard in the industry. What is not standard is listing them on the same page as what is covered, and that is deliberate.
How to make a claim
- Photograph the defect, including one wide shot that shows where it is in the house.
- WhatsApp us the photos with a short description and the date you noticed it.
- We reply during working hours and schedule a visit if needed.
- The repair is done at no charge if it falls within the warranty.
One practical tip: report early, even if it is small. A hairline crack reported in the third month is a small repair. The same crack in the fourteenth month is outside the warranty period, and may already have caused other damage. Your rights in law do not end when the warranty does: see below.
WhatsApp a Warranty ClaimThe warranty period and your rights in law
A warranty period is a period of service: the time during which the contractor comes back and repairs defects at its own cost. The standard forms call it the defects liability period. In the CIDB 2022 form the default is 12 months from practical completion, the repairs are at the contractor's cost, and if the contractor does not do them the owner may employ someone else and recover the cost from the contractor. The 24-month period in Schedule G applies to houses sold by licensed developers under the Housing Development Act, which covers developments of more than four units, so it does not govern a single house built on your own land. How our payment schedule compares with Schedule G.
The end of that period is not the end of the contractor's responsibility. The CIDB form says the Certificate of Making Good Defects does not prejudice the owner's rights over latent defects or other breaches of contract, and that the defects clause does not reduce the contractor's liability under the contract or at law.
- Six years for contract
- Limitation Act 1953, section 6(1)(a): an action founded on a contract or on tort cannot be brought more than six years after the cause of action accrued.
- Three years from discovery, for negligence
- Section 6A, in force since 1 September 2019: for negligence that does not involve personal injury, where the damage is discovered later, you have three years from the date you first knew enough to bring a claim, if that ends later than the six years. The Act's own illustration: a house bought in 2000, cracks that began in 2002, discovered in 2010, gives three years from 2010.
- Fifteen years at the outside
- Section 6A(3): no action under that section can be brought more than fifteen years after the cause of action accrued, whenever the damage is found.
- A contract cannot shorten the law's time limit
- Contracts Act 1950, section 29: an agreement that limits the time within which a party may enforce its rights through the ordinary courts is void to that extent. A warranty period tells you when the contractor repairs as a service; it does not shorten the time the law gives you to claim.
Two cautions. Section 74 of the Contracts Act allows compensation for loss that naturally arises from a breach, not for remote loss, and the means that existed of fixing the problem are taken into account: a small defect left until it causes bigger damage weakens a claim for the bigger damage. And whether a particular defect is a breach, and when the clock started, are questions for a lawyer on your facts. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Retention money and the warranty
Standard forms hold back part of each payment as retention, security that defects will be repaired. PAM 2018 and the CIDB 2022 form default to 5%, release half at practical completion and the rest after the defects liability period, once the Certificate of Making Good Defects is issued; the CIDB form keeps it in a separate trust account. Schedule G holds the last 5% with the developer's solicitor for 24 months.
In our payment schedule, the last stage is paid at handover, after the joint inspection and once the defects list is cleared (see the payment schedule). That means no money is held back during the warranty period: what stands behind it is the written warranty and the rights above. When you compare contractors, ask each one whether it holds retention, how much, and when it is released.
For the detail-minded
Further reference
The rules and details behind the guide above. Open only what applies to you.
Defect or not? How to read what you see
The CIDB definition of a defect, where defects are most common, five checks you can do yourself, and how to record one.
The CIDB Standard Form of Contract for Building Works (2022 edition) defines a defect as any part of the works not carried out properly or not completed in accordance with the contract, including any material or work that does not meet the quality standards or tests the contract sets. That definition decides most arguments. The question is not “is something wrong with the house?” but “was it built as the contract says, or did something happen to it afterwards?”
CIDB's own analysis of its QLASSIC quality assessments from 2015 to 2018 found the most defects in finishes and floors, followed by materials and damage, drains, external walls, and joints and gaps. Those are the places to look hardest, at handover and again before the warranty ends.
Five checks you can do yourself
Hollow tiles
CIDB's quality standard (CIS 7:2021) tests floor and wall tiles by tapping them with a rod and listening for a hollow, drumming sound. Tap gently with something hard and compare with the tiles around it. A patch that sounds different is worth recording, even before it cracks or lifts.
Leak or condensation?
The same standard defines a leak as uncontrolled water on the indoor face of a wall, window, ceiling or similar element, other than condensation or water marks. A damp patch that appears after rain and grows with it is a different thing from a cold pipe sweating. Photograph it during the rain and again when it is dry.
Water that stays
CIS 7 expects floors, drains and aprons to drain freely with no water ponding. Water that stands in the bathroom, the porch or the perimeter drain after rain or a shower is a fall problem, and it is easiest to prove on the day it happens.
Windows and doors
CIS 7 checks a window by opening and closing it at least three times: it should not squeak, it should not leak, and the lock set should fit and line up. Do the same test yourself, including after heavy rain.
Cracks
Mark both ends of a crack in pencil with the date, and photograph it next to a ruler or coin. If the pencil marks show it has grown the next time you look, tell your contractor in writing and ask for the cause to be investigated. Under the CIDB form the contractor searches for the cause at its own cost if it is liable for the defect, and at the owner's cost if it is not.
How to record a defect so the claim is clear
- One wide photo that shows the room and one close-up with something for scale. Keep the original files: they carry the date.
- A simple log: the date you noticed it, the room, what you see, and the photo numbers. A spreadsheet or a notebook both work.
- For leaks, a short video while it is raining.
- Every report in writing (WhatsApp, email or letter), not only by phone, and keep the replies.
- One folder for the handover form, the defects list signed at handover, the manufacturers' warranties and every repair record.
- Report before the warranty period ends. Under the CIDB form, the Certificate of Making Good Defects is issued once every defect notified during the period has been dealt with; a defect nobody wrote down during the period is harder to argue about afterwards.
Manufacturer warranties, insurance and upkeep
How manufacturer and anti-termite warranties, home insurance and routine upkeep sit beside the building warranty.
Two warranties, side by side
The contractor's warranty covers workmanship: how things were installed. A manufacturer's or specialist's warranty covers the product or treatment itself. The CIDB form says the contractor's defects obligation does not prejudice the owner's rights under warranties from sub-contractors and suppliers, so the two run side by side.
Anti-termite soil treatment is the one most often forgotten. Pest-control firms issue their own warranty certificate for it, covering re-treatment if a fresh infestation appears within the period, and the period and conditions differ from firm to firm. Ask for the certificate at handover, note the firm's name and the expiry date, and keep it with the handover form.
Keep every manufacturer's card and invoice in the same folder. A claim with the paperwork missing is much harder to make than the repair itself.
Home insurance starts where construction ends
A houseowner policy covers the building; a householder policy covers its contents. The insurer's wording we read excludes buildings under construction, so the policy that matters starts when the house is complete. Arrange it for the handover date.
The basic cover in that wording is for events: fire, lightning, explosion, impact by vehicles, burst or overflowing tanks and pipes, theft with forced entry, windstorm, earthquake and flood. Flood cover excludes subsidence and landslip, which are an optional extension, and even that extension excludes damage from defective design or inadequate construction of foundations. Insurance and a building warranty cover different things; neither replaces the other.
Insure for the full cost of rebuilding. If the sum insured is lower than the value at the time of loss, you bear a proportionate share of every claim. PIAM's Building Cost Calculator (bcc.piam.org.my) is the reference insurers point to.
The same wording requires you to keep the house in proper repair and make good any defect you discover, and suspends theft cover if the house stands empty for more than 90 days. Other insurers' wordings differ: read your own policy before you rely on it.
Upkeep that keeps a claim clean
- Clear the gutters and the perimeter drain. Water that overflows a blocked gutter is a maintenance problem, not a roof defect.
- Keep floor traps and bathroom drains clear, and note any water that stands.
- Before drilling into a bathroom wall or floor, or changing anything that touches the structure, roof or waterproofing, ask your contractor first.
- Repair small things promptly, and keep a dated record of what you did. It protects the warranty, an insurance claim and any later claim in law.
If you disagree: where a defect dispute can go
Writing, mediation, court and arbitration, with their costs and limits, and two routes that do not apply.
Most defect disagreements end with a site visit and a repair. When one does not, these are the routes, roughly from the least formal to the most.
1. In writing
A letter or email listing each defect, the date noticed, the photos, and a reasonable date by which you ask for the repair. It is the record every later route starts from.
2. Mediation
A neutral mediator helps both sides reach a settlement; nothing is imposed. The CIDB standard form refers disputes to mediation under the CIDB Mediation Rules. The Asian International Arbitration Centre's domestic scale, unless the parties agree otherwise, is RM150 registration, RM500 administrative costs per case, and a mediator at RM5,000 a day plus RM600 an hour for reading documents. The courts run court-annexed mediation centres too: 18 nationwide, one at every state court.
3. Court
An individual can file a small claim of up to RM5,000 in the Magistrates' Court. Above that, the Magistrates' Court hears civil claims up to RM100,000, the Sessions Court from RM100,001 to RM1,000,000, and the High Court has no limit. The courts' own guidance: check you have a proper basis, that you are within time, what evidence you have, and what the case will cost, including the risk of paying the other side's costs.
4. Arbitration
Only if your contract has an arbitration clause. The Contracts Act allows parties to agree to refer disputes to arbitration, and the Limitation Act's time limits apply to arbitrations as they apply to court actions.
Two routes that do not apply to a house on your own land
- The Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims (TTPR). Its jurisdiction is limited to claims arising from a sale and purchase agreement between a buyer and a housing developer under the Housing Development Act, in Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan, up to RM50,000 a claim. A contract to build on your own land is not a sale and purchase agreement with a developer, so the tribunal is not the route.
- CIPAA adjudication. The Construction Industry Payment and Adjudication Act 2012 does not apply to a construction contract made by an individual for a building of less than four storeys wholly intended for his own occupation. For a typical family home, neither the owner nor the contractor can use it.
Frequently asked
When does the 12-month period start?
How do I make a claim?
How long does a repair take?
Does the warranty pass to a new buyer if I sell the house?
What voids the warranty?
After 12 months, will you still help?
Is the 12-month warranty the only time I can claim for a defect?
Can I take a defect to the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims?
Does home insurance pay for cracks and leaks?
What should I ask for at handover?
Before you appoint any contractor
Ask for their warranty terms in writing, and ask for the list of exclusions. If no exclusions are given, they still exist — you just have not seen them yet.