MBS upholds the NZ Building Act 2004, which states that all residential building work is covered by implied warranties. These apply for 10 years regardless of whether you have a written contract, what the contract terms are, or the cost of your building project.
These warranties apply automatically to all contracts for building work on a residential house, whether written or verbal. As well as the implied warranties, there is a 12-month defect repair period. If any defects in the building work emerge within 12 months of the completed build date, your builder has an obligation to fix them under the Act.
Additional third party insurance can be purchased at the time of entering into a build contract if desired. For example, a 10 Year Master Build Guarantee (Registered Master Builders only), or a 10 year Halo Guarantee (NZ Certified Builders).