Home warranties are among the most widely misunderstood contracts in the country, making them the source of a great number of lawsuits. For this reason, these warranties are rapidly becoming the focus of a great number of regulatory efforts across the country. But unlike other contracts that are more universal (i.e. life insurance) in their regulation, home warranty regulation varies enormously from state to state.
State and Federal regulatory bodies are struggling with home warranties at such a profound level that they have yet to reach an accord on what home warranties actually are. Texas, for example, regulates them through the state Real Estate Commissioner, whereas North Carolina regulates them via the Attorney General’s office. Despite all of these disparate regulatory efforts, consumer complaints about home warranties abound, meaning that ongoing alterations and extensions of existing regulations are inevitable.