The Halo 10-Year Guarantee is the structural warranty product offered through NZ Certified Builders (NZCB) on new builds and major renovations. It's issued by NZCB Halo Guarantee Limited, a related entity to NZCB itself, and it's only available on work completed by an NZCB-certified builder.
For most homeowners, the Halo Guarantee is the most substantive consumer protection sitting alongside the build contract. If you understand what it covers and what it doesn't, you understand a fair chunk of the financial protection on your new home. This article walks through it in plain English.
What Halo actually is
The Halo Guarantee is a third-party warranty — meaning the guarantee is provided by Halo Guarantee Limited, not by the builder directly. That distinction matters: if the builder goes out of business, gets sick, or otherwise can't honour their contractual obligations, the warranty still stands because the guarantor is a separate entity.
It covers 10 years from practical completion (the date the new build is signed off as ready for occupation, or when the Code Compliance Certificate is issued by council, whichever applies under the specific contract). The cover sits with the home, not with the original owner — it's fully transferable if the property is sold during the 10-year period.
What Halo covers
The Halo Guarantee covers five main categories of risk. Each one has its own scope and conditions.
1. Loss of deposit
If the builder becomes insolvent between contract signing and the start of work, Halo covers the loss of the deposit you've paid up to a defined limit. This is the protection most people don't think about until the news cycle picks up another builder collapse story.
2. Non-completion of the contracted work
If the builder cannot complete the contract — typically because of insolvency or business failure mid-build — Halo provides cover to reach completion. In practice this means engaging another builder to finish the work, with Halo contributing toward the cost up to the cover limit. The owner still has to manage the transition, but the financial gap doesn't fall entirely on them.
3. Structural workmanship defects (10 years)
Defects in the structural elements of the build — foundations, framing, structural steel, load-bearing components — are covered for 10 years from practical completion. If a structural defect emerges during that period and the builder can't or won't remedy it under the original contract, Halo steps in.
4. Weathertightness defects (10 years)
Failures of the building envelope that allow water ingress — cladding, flashings, joinery interfaces, roof penetrations — are covered for 10 years. This is the cover that matters most to anyone who lived through the leaky building era; it's the category of defect that has historically caused the most financial damage to NZ homeowners.
5. Material defects within scope
Defective materials that were supplied as part of the build and that fail within their reasonable expected lifespan, where the original manufacturer's warranty doesn't respond. This is narrower than the structural and weathertightness cover but it's useful for specific situations.
What Halo doesn't cover
The exclusions are as important as the inclusions. Halo is a structural warranty; it's not an everything-warranty.
- Cosmetic defects— paint scuffs, hairline plaster cracks, finish blemishes. These fall under the builder's standard 12-month defects liability period in the contract, not Halo.
- Wear and tear — anything that degrades through normal use and time. Door handles, hinges, seals, finishes that age normally.
- Owner-caused damage— alterations, renovations, impact damage, misuse. If you knocked a hole in a wall, that's on you.
- Maintenance failures— things that fail because they weren't maintained. Clean your gutters; the warranty won't replace your subfloor if you didn't.
- Natural disasters — earthquakes, floods, fire, storm damage. These are EQC and home insurance categories, not warranty cover.
- Work outside the contracted scope — if you contracted another tradesperson separately for any part of the build (a kitchen company, a paving contractor, a fencing crew), their work is outside the Halo cover. Only what the NZCB-certified builder delivered under the original contract is covered.
- Renovations on existing homes — Halo is designed primarily for new builds. Major renovations can be covered in some circumstances but the scope is more limited than a full new build cover.
How a Halo claim actually works
The claim process is structured but it's not instant. Here's the typical sequence:
- Notice to the builder first.The homeowner is expected to give the original builder notice of the defect and a reasonable opportunity to remedy it. Most defects resolve at this stage — the builder fixes the issue under the contract warranty and Halo doesn't need to be involved.
- Claim lodged with Halo Guarantee Limited.If the builder can't or won't remedy the defect — or if the builder is no longer in business — the homeowner lodges a formal claim with Halo, supplying documentation of the original contract, the defect, and the attempts to resolve it.
- Independent assessment.Halo arranges an independent assessor or inspection of the defect to confirm it's within the scope of cover, that it's genuinely a workmanship or weathertightness issue, and that the claim is valid.
- Resolution.Halo manages the repair — engaging tradespeople to remedy the defect under the cover, up to the policy limits. The homeowner doesn't pay for the covered work; Halo manages the contract directly.
Claims that involve major structural or weathertightness work can take months to resolve from lodgement to completion of repairs. The cover responds, but it's a process — not a same-day fix.
“Fully transferable” — what that means at resale
The Halo Guarantee transfers to the new owner if the property is sold during the 10-year period. There's no fee, no formal re-application — the warranty travels with the title.
This matters more than most owners realise. If you sell your home five years into the warranty period, the buyer effectively gets a five-year warranty on the structural and weathertightness elements of the build. That's a real value in the listing, and it's often raised in due diligence. New homes with active 10-year warranties (Halo or Master Builders) sell faster and at marginally better prices than equivalent homes without.
When does the cover start?
The standard trigger date is practical completion — the point at which the build is finished and the homeowner can occupy the property. In some contracts the trigger is tied to Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) issue from council, which is the formal sign-off that the build complies with the consent and the Building Act.
Both dates usually sit within a few weeks of each other and the exact contract wording defines which one starts the clock. Worth checking in the contract documents before signing.
Halo vs Master Builders Guarantee — how do they compare?
Both products cover similar territory: deposit, non-completion, structural defects, weathertightness defects, for 10 years from practical completion. The differences sit in the detail.
- Administrator:Halo is run by NZCB Halo Guarantee Limited; Master Builders Guarantee is run by the RMBA's own scheme. Both are reputable and well-established.
- Cover limits:Both have cover limits per claim category, and the exact dollar figures differ. Check the current Product Disclosure Statements when you compare — they're both available on the respective body's website.
- Eligibility:Halo is only available through NZCB-certified builders. Master Builders Guarantee is only available through RMBA members. A builder who's in both can offer either.
- Process: Claim processes are similar in shape but administered separately. The independent assessor model is used by both.
For a homeowner, the practical question isn't usually “which guarantee is better” — it's “which builder do I want to work with”. The guarantee tends to follow the builder, not the other way around.
The honest summary
The Halo 10-Year Guarantee is a substantive piece of consumer protection. It covers deposit loss, non-completion, structural defects, and weathertightness defects for 10 years from practical completion. It transfers to subsequent owners. It doesn't cover cosmetic issues, wear and tear, owner-caused damage, or anything outside the contracted scope.
For a new build of any meaningful value, a warranty product — Halo or Master Builders — is worth having. The cost is built into the build contract and the protection is real if something goes wrong at year 7 that you never anticipated at year 0.
Finer Builds is NZCB-certified and we offer the Halo 10-Year Guarantee on every new build. The cover is documented in your contract, the policy details are available from NZCB Halo Guarantee Limited, and the warranty transfers cleanly if you sell the house. Talk to us about your project and we'll walk you through the cover that'll apply. Book Your Free Consultation.