Structural warranty insurance: specially designed for self-builders

Your self-build warranty: built by experts

A self-build warranty is essential when it comes to protecting all your hard work. Whether you’re building your own property, customising it, or planning a project to sell on, self-building is well worth the effort. But it’s also a big investment, so it’s crucial to plan ahead.

With some structural problems taking years to show and potentially costing hundreds of thousands of pounds to repair, you need a self-build warranty you can trust. Our award-winning 10-year structural warranty insurance is a specialist type of cover that protects you against any defects in the design, materials or workmanship of your home for a decade after completion.

At Self-Build Zone, we understand the highs (and lows) of self-building, and we’ve been providing peace of mind for self-builders since 2002. Backed by ‘A’ rated insurers and approved by the majority of UK mortgage lenders, our self-build warranties enable you to self-build new houses, conversions and extensions safely – and sell more easily. We’re here every step of the way.

Just get in touch to find out more

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A two-story stone building under construction, surrounded by scaffolding on all sides, with a partly cloudy sky in the background.

Why a self-build warranty is so important

Self-building is a complex process, especially when structural work is involved. Sometimes faults in the build quality may only appear over time – even years after you’ve finished.

A building warranty covers you for any defects in the design, workmanship and materials that may arise in your self-build, including those affecting the drainage or waterproofing of the property, for 10 years after completion. These defects can be seriously expensive to remedy, and might even require a full or partial rebuild. With a self-build warranty in place, you’re covered for the costs of repairing latent defects – giving you peace of mind your self-build investment is protected.

You’ll also need a structural warranty for other self-build projects including new builds, conversions and extensions, if you have to sell the property. Most lenders require a structural warranty to mortgage a self-build home, with the building warranty transferring straight to the new owner when sold.

Do lenders require a structural warranty?

When it comes to selling a self-build and the buyer acquiring the funds, lenders need to ensure the property is secure and protected to make sure their investment is safe. That’s why most lenders will require a structural warranty in place on the newly built property for a period of 10 years.

Having a self-build warranty in place not only offers peace of mind to a lender that the structure is protected in the event of latent defects cropping up, but it also reassures the lender that professional inspection has been carried out during the course of the building process and that self-builders have been supervised by technical professionals who would expect high standards to issue the building warranty.

Why choose Self-Build Zone for your structural warranty insurance?

10-year warranty backed by secure ‘A’ rated insurers
All warranties UK Finance-approved, so you can mortgage the property
Personal service from our expert team, with over 20 years of experience
Able to cover most construction methods, including unusual build types such as ICF, Strawbale, SIPs and more
In-house technical team who can facilitate your technical audit site visits to help streamline the self-build process
Our structural warranty insurance is the tailor-made self-build version of the expert Build-Zone warranty, trusted by major property developers nationwide.

Ensure better protection with a self-build structural warranty

A structural warranty offers the most secure and comprehensive protection on the market, compared with other cheaper alternatives like architect’s certificates, CML or professional consultant certificates.

It’s important to understand that a building warranty is different to an architect’s certificate and a professional consultant certificate. A self-build structural warranty provides more thorough protection because it covers defects in the workmanship and materials (where structural claims are more likely) as well as the design of your self-build.

An architect certificate only guarantees your new home against defects in design for just six years, rather than 10. A professional consultant certificate is simply a certificate stating who the professional for the project was. If any defects arise down the line, you would need to prove liability of the professional for the damage. Professional consultant certificates are issued to professionals when they take out professional indemnity insurance, so if their policy expires or they are no longer in business at the time of the structural issue arising, there would be no cover in place at all.

That is why a 10-year structural warranty is the best route to go down when it comes to protecting your new build. Our specialist self-build warranty is designed for self-builders and we have a technical team on hand every step of the way to ensure your self-build is built to high standards to qualify for the structural warranty.

Specialist survey support for your self-build

We know how challenging self-build projects can be, so we’re here to help. We partner with a network of independent technical inspectors who can help facilitate you surveys for your project, You’ll benefit from:

A dedicated surveyor looking after your project from start to finish, who you can call on at any time
On-site visits at key stages throughout the build, usually within five working days
Formal plan checks along with checking calculations, helping flag and report any issues early
Access to highly-qualified surveyors with proven experience in self-build projects
Better risk management on-site to reduce the chance of any accidents or claims.

Working with your local inspector

If you’ve already made your building regulation application to your local authority or an approved inspector. We’ll then arrange for a suitable schedule of technical audits to be carried out during the project’s duration, alongside the local authority building control inspector.

Call the Build-Zone Team

0345 230 9874

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Wooden roof trusses of a building under construction, with a clear blue sky in the background.

Planning a self-build? Don’t forget site insurance

A self-build is a big investment so keep it safe during building works. While your builder’s policy protects what they do, our site insurance protects you, your project, existing structures and the people you bring on site throughout the entire build process.