Default rule and exceptions
Virginia is one of the few states with a codified implied warranty on new-home sales, the builder-vendor statutorily warrants the home is free of structural defects and built in a workmanlike manner, but the claim is barred just 5 years after the construction services were furnished.
| Party | What they are responsible for |
|---|---|
| Builder-vendor | Statutorily warrants the home is free from structural defects and built in a workmanlike manner. |
| Homebuyer | Must sue within 5 years after the construction services were furnished. |
| Exceptions | None on record |
What the source says
Last verified against the primary source on Sep 20, 2026.
In every contract for the sale of a new dwelling, the vendor shall be held to warrant to the vendee that ... the dwelling with all of its fixtures is, to the best of the actual knowledge of the vendor or his agents, sufficiently (i) free from structural defects ... and (ii) constructed in a workmanlike manner.
No action to recover for any injury to property, real or personal, or for bodily injury or wrongful death, arising out of the defective and unsafe condition of an improvement to real property ... shall be brought ... more than five years after the performance or furnishing of such services and construction.
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Common questions
Who pays for new construction: builder defect warranty in General, VA?
The party at fault. Statutorily warrants the home is free from structural defects and built in a workmanlike manner.
What is this based on for General, VA?
This verdict is sourced to Va. Code § 55.1-357: Implied warranties on new homes and 2 sources in total, each independently re-checked before publication.
Sources
- Va. Code § 55.1-357: Implied warranties on new homesstatute · verified-primary · accessed 2026-09-13
- Va. Code § 8.01-250statute · verified-primary · accessed 2026-09-13
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