HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-02-11_NHBPS-Builder-Training-Guide RB Training Guide: NHBPS 01/31/14
Residential Builders Training Guide for the
New Home Buyer Protection Public Registry:
Creating a New Home Registration
Prepared by
New Home Buyer Protection Office
Alberta Municipal Affairs
RB Training Guide: NHBPS 01/31/14
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Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3
2 Using the Residential Builders Portal of the NHBPS ............................................................................. 3
2.1 Creating a New Home Registration ............................................................................................... 3
2.2 Registration Search ....................................................................................................................... 8
3 Learn More .......................................................................................................................................... 11
RB Training Guide: NHBPS 01/31/14
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Figures
Figure 1 - Residential Builder - New Home Registration screen, upper half ................................................ 4
Figure 2 - Residential Builder - New Home Registration screen, lower half ................................................. 5
Figure 3 - Online payment form .................................................................................................................... 7
Figure 4 - Paymment Confirmation screen ................................................................................................... 8
Figure 5 - Search Registrations screen .......................................................................................................... 9
Figure 6 - Registration Status options ......................................................................................................... 10
Tables
Table 1 - Registration Status options .......................................................................................................... 10
Table 2 - New Home Buyer Protection Office Contact Information ........................................................... 11
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1 Introduction
The New Home Buyer Protection Act establishes minimum requirements for warranty coverage on new
residential construction in Alberta. Under the Act, a building permit cannot be issued unless appropriate
warranty coverage as defined in the legislation or an authorization for exemption from the coverage
requirement is in place on the property.
The New Home Buyer Protection Act applies to all new homes built where the building permit is applied
for after February 1, 2014. In addition to new homes (as defined in the Act), the legislation also applies
to substantial reconstruction, as well as manufactured homes (includes modular, ready-to, move, etc.).
The purpose of this guide is to provide instruction for the use of the Residential Portal of the New Home
Buyer Protection System (NHBPS), including creating and editing new home registrations, managing
payments, searching registrations, and managing outstanding tasks. This guide is not a resource for
interpretation of the legislation. Interpretive bulletins and other resources will be made available as
needed. Contact the New Home Buyer Protection Office for more information (See Table 2 - New Home
Buyer Protection Office Contact Information).
2 Using the Residential Builders Portal of the NHBPS
2.1 Creating a New Home Registration
The Residential Builders Portal to create and edit new home registrations. We recommend the following
best practices when creating new registrations:
1. When entering multi-unit buildings, create a new home registration per building; it will
streamline the process for the warranty provider to confirm the warranty.
2. Do not submit several condominium projects on the same form.
3. Please provide details of each unit in the building.
4. Be sure to verify that online payments for new registrations are processed successfully by the
payment system. Until payment has been processed successfully, new home registrations
cannot be confirmed by warranty providers, approved by the Registrar, or published in the
Public Registry.
To create a new home registration:
1. In the Registrations menu, select Create a New Registration.
2. The Residential Builder – New Home Registration screen will be displayed. Required fields are
marked with an asterisk (*).
Note: The initial release of this training guide focusses solely on creating new home
registrations. A more comprehensive guide is currently in development and will be released
shortly.
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Figure 1 - Residential Builder - New Home Registration screen, upper half
3. Enter Builder Information as needed.
a. Builder Name and Application Date will be pre-populated and uneditable.
b. Select the appropriate Warranty Provider from the dropdown list. The registration will
be routed to the selected warranty provider when payment for the registration is
successfully processed.
c. Enter a Project Name if applicable.
Note: At any time during the process of creating a new home registration, if you need to
stop working on the registration but do not want to lose the progress you have made, you
can save the incomplete registration as a draft and come back to it later. To save a
registration in progress, click the Save As Draft button located in the lower left corner of
the screen.
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Figure 2 - Residential Builder - New Home Registration screen, lower half
4. Enter available Properties data.
a. If you have selected a multi-unit Property Type, use the Add Unit button to add the
appropriate number of units to the registration form; click Add Unit for each additional
unit beyond the first (i.e., for a triplex, click Add Unit twice).
Single-detached home – one unit needed on form.
Duplex – two units needed on form.
Triplex - three units needed on form.
Fourplex - four units needed on form.
Townhouse - ensure the appropriate number of units is added to the form.
Condominium - ensure the appropriate number of units is added to the form.
b. Warrantable Common Property: If the property has warranty coverage on the common
property, please check the box; otherwise, leave the checkbox unchecked.
c. Has additional 2 year warranty on Building Envelope? (In addition to 5 year
requirement): If the property has the additional 2 year warranty on Building Envelope,
please check the box; otherwise, leave the checkbox unchecked.
d. Common Civic Address should be checked when all units in the property share the same
civic address.
5. Enter available Home Unit/Address data.
a. Provide the available Civic Address for each unit; leave the Civic Address blank if one has
not yet been assigned.
b. The municipality field in the civic address section is mandatory.
c. For each unit, provide the legal description in at least one of the following formats:
Lot/Block/Plan
ATS Standard
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ATS Non-Standard
6. Use the Add Property button to create additional property entries on the form as needed.
7. When the registration form is complete and you have verified the accuracy of all of the data,
click the Submit button.
After a new registration is submitted, the Registration Fee Summary will be displayed. This screen
displays a read-only version of the information contained on the submitted registration. This gives
builders an opportunity to verify the accuracy of the information before proceeding to the payment
process. The outstanding payment amount for the registration will be displayed in the Payment
Required section of the screen.
If any of the information is incorrect, click on the Back button to return to open the
registration in edit mode. Make the appropriate changes and click Submit. The Registration
Fee Summary will be displayed, giving you another chance to verify the information.
If the information on the Registration Fee Summary is correct, you can proceed to the online
payment process by clicking the link provided in the Payment Information section of the
screen.
To pay a registration fee online:
1. Enter the online payment process for a registration by one of two methods:
2. If you have just submitted a registration, click the link in the Payment Information section of the
screen.
3. If you are paying for a previously created registration that is awaiting payment, click the
payment link in the appropriate task list.
4. The online payment form will be displayed.
Note: If you access a different component of the portal, start to create another registration,
or exit the portal without making payment on the newly created registration, that
registration will appear in your task list(s) as awaiting payment. The registration will not be
routed to the warranty provider for confirmation until payment is complete.
.
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Figure 3 - Online payment form
5. Fill out the form as required.
6. After verifying that the payment information provided is accurate, click the Submit Payment
button.
7. If your payment is successfully processed, the Payment Confirmation screen will be displayed.
This screen is your payment receipt; it can be saved and printed by clicking the Download PDF
button.
Note: The online payment component is a secure third-party system external to the NHBPS.
Your credit card information is never stored in the NHBPS.
.
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Figure 4 - Paymment Confirmation screen
After the fee payment for a registration has been successfully processed, the registration will be
routed to the selected warranty provider for confirmation of coverage. Once the warranty provider
has confirmed coverage, the registration will be routed to the New Home Buyer Protection Office
for approval. Approved registrations will be displayed on the Public Search Registry.
2.2 Registration Search
Six options are available to search for a registration form or a registered unit. Users can search by Street
Address, Legal Land Description, Lot/Block/Plan, Registration Form, Registration Unit ID, Status, or
Project. Builders may use whatever search option is most convenient based on the information
available.
Note: Most new home registrations will be auto-approved by the system immediately after
confirmation of warranty coverage. One percent of all registrations will be subject to
manual approval by the NHBPO before appearing on the Public Search Registry.
.
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Figure 5 - Search Registrations screen
To search the registry:
1. Select Search Registrations from the Registrations menu.
2. Use the dropdown menu to select a search method.
3. Enter the appropriate information in the fields provided.
4. When all available information has been entered, click the Search button.
5. The results screen will show all entries matching the selection criteria.
When searching by Registration Status, a dropdown list containing all of the available status options will
be provided. Information on the meaning and use of each status is provided in Table 1 - Registration
Status options.
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Figure 6 - Registration Status options
Table 1 - Registration Status options
Status Explanation
Approved The registration has been approved.
Awaiting confirmation The home is waiting to be confirmed by the
respective warranty provider.
Awaiting payment Units submitted on this registration form are
awaiting payment.
Cancelled The registration form was cancelled by the Builder.
Commenced This status should not be used, as the system does
not currently accept commencement dates.
Awaiting Approval The file has been sent to NHBPO staff for manual
approval (1%).
De-enrolled The warranty provider has withdrawn the
conditional warranty coverage on the unit.
Denied Only applicable to Owner builder authorizations.
Registration Rejected The registration has been rejected.
Suspended Only applicable to Owner builder authorizations.
Validation Pending Registration is waiting for validation by warranty
provider.
Warranty Rejected Rejected by the warranty provider.
Withdrawn Only applicable to Owner Builder authorizations.
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3 Learn More
For more information about MA Connect and the New Home Buyer Protection System, contact the New
Home Buyer Protection Office.
Table 2 - New Home Buyer Protection Office Contact Information
Website: www.HomeWarranty.alberta.ca
Information Line: 1-866-421-6929
Email: HomeWarranty.inquiries@gov.ab.ca