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If you are pricing builders in 2026, you will see two long-term guarantees referenced most often: the Master Build Guarantee, offered through Registered Master Builders, and the Halo 10-Year Residential Guarantee, offered through New Zealand Certified Builders. Gardo Group is a Registered Master Builder, and the Master Build Guarantee is the one we offer. This post explains what it covers and how it works.
The Master Build Guarantee is the residential building guarantee scheme issued through Registered Master Builders, the trade association that has represented New Zealand builders since 1893. The scheme has been operating since the early 1990s and is the longest-running long-term residential build guarantee in the country.
Master Build is independently underwritten. The policy isn't backed by the builder, it's backed by an insurance underwriter. That means the guarantee remains valid for its full term even if the original builder is no longer in business. That is the point of having it.
The Master Build 10-Year Guarantee covers three main risk areas, each with their own coverage period and limit:
1. Loss of deposit. If the builder cannot start or complete the work after you have paid a deposit (for example, if they go into liquidation before construction begins), Master Build covers your deposit up to a fixed cap. Coverage period: from contract signature until practical completion.
2. Non-completion. If the builder cannot complete the contracted work after construction has started, Master Build covers the additional cost of getting another builder to finish to the specified standard, up to a defined cap.
3. Structural defects (10-year coverage). After practical completion, the Master Build Guarantee covers structural defects in materials and workmanship, plus weather-tightness defects, for ten years. This is the coverage that gives the scheme its 10-year name.
The scheme also includes shorter-term coverage for some defects in materials and workmanship for the first two years post-completion (sometimes called the defects period). There are scope and value caps on each component, set by Master Builders and their underwriter. We will give you the current limits with your contract.
Both schemes exist for the same reason: to give homeowners independent, long-term protection on a major build. The structures are broadly similar: both have deposit-protection, non-completion, and 10-year structural-defect components.
The differences tend to be in the detail rather than the headline. Master Build is the older and more publicly recognised brand in NZ residential construction, and Master Builders runs the House of the Year awards, which gives the brand additional visibility. Halo is the newer scheme operating since 2017. Both are accepted by major NZ banks as evidence of guarantee for new-build lending.
For most homeowners the practical question is simpler: which scheme does your builder offer? On a Gardo Group build it is Master Build, and we take you through the current policy limits with your contract.
For most homeowners, the Master Build Guarantee sits in a folder for ten years and is never invoked, because the build was done properly. When it does need to be invoked, the process is:
The documentation pack you receive at handover from us includes everything you need to do this.
Practical reasons. Master Builders membership requires our trade qualifications, a track record of completed work, ongoing professional development, and meeting the standards expected of a Registered Master Builder. It is also what lets us offer the Master Build Guarantee on your project.
If I add a renovation to my Master Build-covered home, is the addition also covered?
The renovation work, if delivered by a Registered Master Builder under a new Master Build-eligible contract, can be covered by its own new Master Build Guarantee starting from that practical completion date.
Can I transfer the Master Build Guarantee to a new owner if I sell?
Yes, but it isn't automatic. The new owner has to apply to Master Build within 90 days of settlement, with a full home inspection and a $400 transfer fee (including GST, at the time of writing). Once Master Build approves it, the remaining cover passes to them, so it's worth flagging with your buyer.
How is Master Build paid for? Is it added to my build cost?
Yes. The Master Build Guarantee premium is part of the cost of doing the build with a Registered Master Builder. We will show you exactly where it sits in your contract.
Can I just rely on the Building Act and Consumer Guarantees Act instead?
You can, but the protection is different. Statutory rights are exercised through legal process. A Master Build Guarantee is a contractual instrument backed by an underwriter. It is quicker to invoke, and it survives the original builder.
Which guarantee will my project get?
The Master Build Guarantee. As a Registered Master Builder it is the guarantee we offer, and it gives you fully underwritten 10 year cover from a long established New Zealand body, with broad brand recognition and straightforward bank acceptance.
If you are evaluating builders for a new build or major renovation in Tauranga or the Bay of Plenty, this is a question worth asking each of them, in writing: which guarantee scheme will cover this project, what are the current caps, and will I receive the policy documentation at handover. Talk to us about your project.
