1. Purpose of this Warranty
Ameridura Manufacturing Company provides this Limited Home Warranty for qualifying Ameridura modular homes in accordance with the Louisiana New Manufactured and Modular Home Warranty Act, La. R.S. 37:2177.1 through 37:2177.10.
This Warranty establishes the warranties applicable to the Home and does not waive, reduce, or diminish any minimum warranty required by Louisiana law.
For a modular home, the applicable building standards are the International Residential Code as adopted by the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council.
2. Definitions
“Home” means the Ameridura modular home covered by this Warranty. Louisiana defines a modular home as a factory-built residential dwelling unit built to the International Residential Code as adopted by the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council.
“Builder” for purposes of the Louisiana Warranty Act includes the factory-built housing dealer or developer who sold the Home, the manufacturer who constructed the Home or a section of a multi-section Home, the installer who installed the Home, and persons or entities that designed, manufactured, or constructed the Home, as provided by law.
“Initial Purchaser” means the person for whom the Home is built or the first person to whom the Home is sold upon completion of construction.
“Owner” means the initial purchaser and successors in title, heirs, invitees, or assigns during the applicable warranty periods.
The Warranty Commencement Date is the earlier of (1) the date legal title to the Home is conveyed to the initial purchaser, or (2) the date the Home is first occupied. We do not use the date the house leaves the factory.
3. One-Year Home Warranty
For one year following the Warranty Commencement Date, the Home shall be free from (1) any defect due to noncompliance with applicable building standards; and (2) other defects in materials or workmanship not regulated by building standards.
This is the general Home warranty required by Louisiana law. It is one year.
4. Two-Year Systems Warranty
For two years following the Warranty Commencement Date, the following systems shall be free from defects due to noncompliance with applicable building standards or other defects in materials or workmanship not regulated by building standards: plumbing; electrical; heating; cooling; and ventilating systems.
This warranty is exclusive of appliances, fixtures, and equipment. The warranty period in this section does not make Ameridura the warrantor of a refrigerator merely because the refrigerator was installed in the Home. Manufacturer warranties applicable to appliances, fixtures, and equipment remain governed by their applicable manufacturer’s warranty terms.
5. Five-Year Major Structural Warranty
For five years following the Warranty Commencement Date, the Home shall be free from major structural defects due to noncompliance with applicable building standards or other defects in materials or workmanship not regulated by building standards.
A major structural defect means actual physical damage to designated load-bearing portions of the Home caused by failure of those load-bearing portions that affects their load-bearing functions to the extent that the Home becomes unsafe, unsanitary, or otherwise unlivable.
For Ameridura’s hybrid ICF product, reinforced ICF exterior walls, engineered floor systems, and engineered roof framing fall within this statutory structural framework. The warranty follows the statutory definition of major structural defect rather than promising that every cosmetic or maintenance issue involving those components is covered.
- Foundation systems and footings
- Beams
- Girders
- Lintels
- Columns
- Walls and partitions
- Floor systems
- Roof framing systems
6. Exclusions — site and property
Unless the parties otherwise agree in writing, the following are excluded from the Builder’s warranty.
Site improvements and exterior improvements: fences; landscaping, including sodding, seeding, shrubs, existing and new trees, and plantings; off-site improvements; driveways; walkways; and any other improvement that is not part of the Home itself.
After the first year, the warranty excludes the concrete floor of a basement and the concrete floor of an attached or unattached garage that is built separate from a foundation wall or other structural element of the Home.
The warranty excludes damage to real property that is not part of the Home covered by the warranty and is not included in the purchase price of the Home.
7. Owner negligence, maintenance, neglect, or improper operation
The Warranty excludes damage to the extent it is caused or made worse by negligence, improper maintenance, neglect, or improper operation by anyone other than the Builder or an employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Builder.
8. Appliances, equipment, and fixtures
The Warranty excludes damage to the extent it is caused or made worse by failure of anyone other than the Builder or an employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Builder to comply with the warranty requirements of manufacturers of appliances, equipment, or fixtures.
This includes circumstances in which the owner or occupant prevents the Builder or an employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Builder from making timely repairs required under applicable law and warranty.
9. Notice to the Residential Subcommittee
Before undertaking any repair himself or herself or instituting an action for breach of warranty, the Owner must provide the Residential Subcommittee with written notice concerning each defective Home by (1) completing the consumer complaint form provided by the Residential Subcommittee; and (2) submitting that form by registered or certified mail within one year after knowledge of the defect.
The Owner must advise the Residential Subcommittee of all defects in the individual Home. The Residential Subcommittee shall then have the Home inspected and a determination made concerning the defects listed by the Owner, give the appropriate Builder a reasonable opportunity to comply with the Act, and after repairs are made have the Home reinspected to determine whether the repairs comply with applicable building standards.
Ameridura will not replace this statutory process with a private procedure that purports to eliminate or shorten the owner’s rights under Louisiana law.
10. Notice provided by the seller or developer
The factory-built housing dealer or factory-built housing developer must provide the Owner written notice of the requirements of the New Manufactured and Modular Home Warranty Act at the time of closing between the dealer or developer and the Owner or, if there is no such closing, at the time the purchase agreement is executed.
The Residential Subcommittee is required to adopt rules and regulations implementing this notice requirement. Ameridura will not fabricate that official form before Louisiana publishes it.
11. Grading changes
The Warranty excludes damage caused or made worse by any change in the grading of the ground made by anyone other than the Builder or an employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Builder.
12. Alterations or additions
The Warranty excludes damage caused or made worse by any change, alteration, or addition made to the Home after initial occupancy by the Owner, except a change, alteration, or addition performed by the Builder or an employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Builder.
13. Dampness, condensation, and drainage
The Warranty excludes damage caused or made worse by dampness, condensation, or other damage resulting from the Owner’s failure to maintain adequate ventilation or drainage.
14. Failure to minimize loss
The Warranty excludes loss or damage that the Owner has not taken timely action to minimize.
15. Materials or work supplied by others
The Warranty excludes defects in materials or work supplied by anyone other than the Builder or an employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Builder, and defects caused by materials or work supplied by anyone other than the Builder or an employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Builder.
16. Normal wear and deterioration
The Warranty excludes normal wear and tear and normal deterioration.
17. Loss or damage not constituting a construction defect
The Warranty excludes loss or damage that does not constitute a defect in the construction of the Home by the Builder or an employee, agent, or subcontractor of the Builder.
18. Specified events and conditions
The Warranty excludes loss or damage resulting from war, accident, riot, civil commotion, water escape, falling objects, aircraft, vehicles, acts of God, lightning, windstorm, hail, flood, mudslide, earthquake, volcanic eruption, wind-driven water, and changes in the level of the underground water table that are not reasonably foreseeable.
This does not mean Ameridura can use “hurricane” as a blanket excuse for a manufacturing defect. The statutory exclusion concerns loss or damage resulting from the listed event. A covered defect remains evaluated under the applicable warranty and building standards.
19. Soil movement covered by other insurance
The Warranty excludes damage caused by soil movement that is covered by other insurance.
20. Insect damage
The Warranty excludes insect damage.
21. Nonresidential use
The Warranty excludes loss or damage arising while the Home is being used primarily for a nonresidential purpose.
22. Conditions without actual physical damage
The Warranty excludes any condition that does not result in actual physical damage to the Home.
23. Bodily injury and personal property
The Warranty excludes bodily injury and damage to personal property.
24. Relocation and incidental expenses
The Warranty excludes costs of shelter, transportation, food, moving, storage, and other incidental expenses related to relocation during repair.
25. Timely written reporting
The Warranty excludes any defect not reported in writing by registered or certified mail to the Residential Subcommittee or insurance company, as appropriate, before expiration of the applicable warranty period established in Section 3, 4, or 5 of this Warranty plus thirty days.
26. Consequential damages
The Warranty excludes consequential damages.
27. Soil conditions or soil movement on owner-owned land
Where the Home is constructed on land owned by the Initial Purchaser, the Warranty excludes loss or damage caused by soil conditions or soil movement if Ameridura obtains the written waiver from the Initial Purchaser required by Louisiana law.
Ameridura will use a separate, clearly disclosed soil-condition waiver when applicable rather than hiding that provision.
28. Mold
The Warranty excludes mold and mold damage.
29. Minimum warranty cannot be waived or reduced
The one-year, two-year, and five-year warranties established by Louisiana law are minimum required warranties. For a single- or multiple-family dwelling intended to be occupied by an owner as his or her home, those minimum warranties may not be waived by the Owner or reduced by the Builder.
Ameridura therefore does not use a sales contract or warranty acknowledgment to reduce the statutory 1-, 2-, or 5-year minimums.
30. Warranty transfer
Any warranty imposed by the Louisiana New Manufactured and Modular Home Warranty Act automatically transfers without charge to a subsequent owner who acquires title to the Home.
Transfer of the Home does not extend the duration of any warranty. If the original purchaser sells the Home after three years, the remaining statutory structural warranty does not restart for the new owner.
31. Warranty insurance
All or part of the Builder’s warranty obligation may be insured for the benefit of the purchaser through an insurance company authorized to transact business in Louisiana.
Nothing in this Warranty represents that warranty insurance exists unless such insurance has actually been obtained and is applicable to the Home. Ameridura will disclose any warranty insurance actually applicable to the Home separately.
32. Remedies and damages
If a Builder violates the Louisiana Warranty Act by failing to perform as required by the warranties provided by the Act, an affected Owner has a cause of action against the Builder for actual damages, including attorney fees and court costs, arising from the violation.
For a single defect, damages may not exceed the reasonable cost of repair or replacement necessary to cure that defect. For all defects in the Home, damages may not exceed the original purchase price of the Home.
33. Peremptive period
Any action to enforce a warranty provided by the Louisiana New Manufactured and Modular Home Warranty Act is subject to a thirty-day peremptive period after expiration of the applicable warranty period established by Louisiana law.
34. Arbitration
The parties may provide for arbitration of a disputed claim. Any arbitration provision must comply with Louisiana law governing arbitration and may be binding only to the extent permitted by that law.
No mandatory arbitration provision is included in this Warranty.
35. Exclusivity of this warranty framework
The Louisiana New Manufactured and Modular Home Warranty Act provides the exclusive remedies, warranties, and peremptive periods between Builders and Owners concerning construction of covered Homes.
Accordingly, this Warranty does not add a separate redhibition warranty, Napoleonic-law warranty period, implied warranty period, or other separate construction warranty outside the statutory framework. Louisiana Civil Code articles on redhibition are not bolted onto this homeowner warranty.
Nothing in this Warranty affects or limits a warranty of title to land or improvements.
36. Governing law
This Warranty shall be governed by the applicable laws of the State of Louisiana, including the Louisiana New Manufactured and Modular Home Warranty Act and the applicable Louisiana construction and building standards governing the Home.
For a modular Home, the applicable statutory building standard is the International Residential Code as adopted by the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code Council. Installation of a new or used modular home must comply with the IRC enforced by the local authority having jurisdiction.
37. No additional express warranty
Except as expressly required by applicable Louisiana law or separately agreed in a written agreement signed by the parties, Ameridura Manufacturing Company does not provide any additional express warranty beyond the warranties stated in this Warranty.