Chris Shortt
Mortgage Broker
BRX Mortgage Inc.
BCFSA X301291
Licence MB612777
Answers
Not on its own, but it can affect your insurance, and that affects your mortgage.
Not by itself. But it can make home insurance harder to get, and a lender will not fund a mortgage on a home that cannot be insured. So it is worth checking before your offer becomes firm, not after.
Polybutylene, usually called poly-B, is a grey plastic water pipe that was commonly installed in homes built in the 1980s and 1990s. It has a reputation for failing at the fittings, which is why insurers pay attention to it.
Plenty of homes on Vancouver Island still have it, so finding it is not unusual and it is not automatically a deal breaker.
There is no single rule. Depending on the insurer and the home, you might see:
| A surcharge | A higher premium while the poly-B is in place. |
| A deadline | Coverage on condition that the plumbing is replaced within a set time. |
| An exclusion | Coverage, but with water damage limited or excluded. |
| A refusal | Some insurers may decline to cover the home at all. |
Because the mortgage depends on the insurance, the insurer's answer is effectively the lender's answer.
| Ask the inspector | Make sure the inspection identifies the pipe type. Inspectors can miss it if it is behind walls. |
| Get an insurance quote early | Before your subjects are removed, not after. That is when you still have options. |
| Ask about replacement | Find out whether the seller has replaced any of it, and get a quote if it is still there. It can be a significant cost. |
| Check the strata | In a strata, plumbing may be the strata's responsibility. The depreciation report and minutes can tell you if replacement is planned. |
This is general information, not a guarantee of how any insurer or lender will treat a particular home. I will help you check what applies to yours.
Nothing to fill in first, and no credit check to book. Bring whatever questions you have got.