Do HVAC Warranties Transfer to New Texas Homeowners?

Do HVAC manufacturer’s warranties transfer to new homeowners in Texas? Yes, they should as of September 1, 2021, but that is not always the case everywhere. Florida is the only other state that legislates AC warranties must transfer to the new homeowner.

When replacing an HVAC system in your Houston, Texas area home, knowing more about your home’s HVAC manufacturer’s warranty can save you money later on if anything major goes wrong. 

Here’s What You Need to Know About HVAC Warranties in Texas

Texas legislators representing districts in the Houston area, Texas Rep. Christina Morales with support from Texas Senator John Whitmire (currently Mayor of Houston) authored HB 2110 during the Texas 87th Legislative Session (2021-2022). The law was easily passed and signed by the governor with an effective date of September 1, 2021.

Legislators strongly believed this bill would save homeowners money:

“When ownership of a home is transferred to the new owner after a sale, the manufacturer’s warranty attached to the home’s air conditioning system may legally be considered void. Typically, manufacturers will honor the warranty on an air conditioning system even if the ownership of the property has changed hands. This is a common practice in the industry, but it is not required of manufacturers. Some manufacturers require owners to complete a transfer of warranty form and pay a fee to transfer the warranty upon sale of a property. H.B. 2110 seeks to protect consumers and homeowners by providing for the automatic transfer of a manufacturer’s warranty on an air conditioning system or a component of that system when residential real property is conveyed to a new owner,” wrote Rep. Morales.

How Long Are HVAC Manufacturer Warranties?

Typical HVAC manufacturer warranties last 5 years. When AC equipment is properly registered, manufacturers often reward homeowners by extending the warranty to 10-12 years for residential air conditioners. That term varies depending on the HVAC manufacturer. 

Many HVAC companies will automatically register HVAC equipment they install with the manufacturer and keep the same information on file. Our company has found that this business practice makes serving customers easier over time. 

Not every company does this, so it’s a good idea to ask if you’re buying a new AC and are not sure if the equipment has been registered. Most manufacturers give you 60-90 days to register new residential air conditioning equipment, so don’t wait.  ProTip: If you are closing on a brand-new home, you need to take the initiative to register all of your major appliances, including your HVAC system.

Verify and Look Up Your HVAC Manufacturer’s Warranty

Many but not all HVAC manufacturers make it easy to look up your warranty online. Licensed contractors can also research the issue for you. If you get conflicting information, get with your favorite AC company who can get to the bottom of the situation. Here’s a sampling of the most common air conditioning and heating manufacturers we see in the Houston area. 

A number of HVAC manufacturers offer proprietary apps for their dealers to look up the availability of parts and equipment and verify warranty status. This can make providing warranty service easier for both homeowners and your favorite AC company. Sometimes manufacturers’ apps that HVAC contractors use to check and process warranty parts are better than others. 

How Does HB 2110 Benefit Houston Area and Texas Homeowners?

In the past, HVAC manufacturers were legally not obligated to honor AC warranties when homes were sold. HVAC manufacturer’s warranties were considered “Limited Warranties” because they followed the original owner.  If a home changed hands, the warranty would be lost. 

In certain cases and depending on the circumstances, HVAC manufacturers would sometimes honor warranties even if they legally were not required to. Some manufacturers charged warranty transfer fees. 

Texas HB 2110 states the following:

  1. Texas HB 2110 eliminates transfer fees and ensures that this essential appliance’s warranty is conveyed with the home any time it is sold to a new owner.
  2. Instead of the warranty belonging to an individual, Texas HB 2110 keeps the AC warranty with the home. The new Texas law means that the HVAC manufacturer’s warranty is required to transfer to the new owner. It should not matter how many new owners there are, the equipment warranty should convey each time.
  3. It’s important to note that Texas HB 2110 does not extend the manufacturer’s warranty. If new equipment was properly registered with the HVAC manufacturer for a 10-year warranty and the first homeowner lived in the home two years. That would mean the new buyer would have 8 years left on their warranty.

Warranty Hiccups Still Remain for Texas Homeowners

The law is pretty clear about how HVAC manufacturer warranties on new equipment should transfer, but we regularly receive questions from homeowners about AC warranties.  

Some AC manufacturers and supply houses are less than clear about the whole process. Some may not realize the implications of the newer Texas law because these warranties are handled differently in nearly every other state. 

We have new customers who tell us that they tried to look up their warranty or called a manufacturer and they said one thing, but the website said something else. 

What you might not realize is that if you work with a local HVAC company, especially a premium dealer attached to a manufacturer, they can often advocate on your behalf related to the warranty. Sometimes a warranty situation is subjective and there’s a margin of error. An experienced HVAC company that you have been working with over time and that has meticulous records can be a great help in this situation. For example, our company is a RUUD ProPartner and Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Dealer.

How to Protect Your HVAC Warranty

1) DOCUMENT YOUR HVAC WARRANTY

If you are buying a new home in Texas, ask the seller for their warranty paperwork for their AC system just in case. Better yet, write down the last name of the original owner who purchased the HVAC system. Some manufacturers still require the purchaser’s last name to look up the warranty online. 

The number 1 most confusing warranty situation we see is when homeowners expect a drain problem to be covered by warranty when that is often a maintenance issue.

Whoever you choose to do the warranty service will need to independently verify the warranty and the part because they are professionally responsible for the outcome of the job. We wrote a whole article about all the steps that AC and heating companies follow to properly fulfill an HVAC warranty repair. Only after those steps are completed and a faulty part is returned will the AC and heating company be reimbursed by the HVAC manufacturer. This also explains why some companies simply won’t take on HVAC warranty work.

2) MAINTAIN YOUR AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEM

Keep your HVAC warranty in good shape by maintaining your AC system with twice annual inspections in the spring and fall, regularly changing air filters, and using a licensed professional to address any repairs. Parts purchased off the internet or a DIY repair gone wrong can void your manufacturer’s warranty. Find out what a manufacturer’s HVAC warranty does not cover. 

3) LEARN ABOUT HVAC AND OTHER RELATED WARRANTIES

A manufacturer’s limited HVAC warranty is separate from a parts/labor warranty. Most HVAC warranties do not cover labor costs to remove and replace a faulty part.

A parts/labor warranty is optional extra coverage purchased to cover the cost of labor and minor parts. Our company includes a labor warranty on each residential HVAC installation we do to eliminate labor costs associated with any part failures replaced under warranty. If you’re unsure if you have one, ask your favorite AC and heating company. They can often recommend a solution. In this case, the only fee a homeowner would pay would be for the service call itself because the parts and labor would covered.

A home warranty, which is commonly given to new homeowners after the sale of a home, is a different type of insurance often meant to fix any unexpected repairs during a short window of time and under specific circumstances. These types of warranties are more of a home service contract.

To confuse matters further, homeowner’s insurance can cover the cost of AC replacement under certain circumstances such as hail, fire, tree fall, or windstorm damage. If you have added flood insurance, it can also replace a flooded AC unit. Home and flood insurance do not cover HVAC replacement related to normal wear and tear.

4) HIRE LOCAL FOR BEST SERVICE

Choose an air conditioning and heating company that can advocate for your interests when it comes to warranty service. They can educate you about the latest regulations and respond quickly when you need HVAC service. They can leverage established relationships with local distributors and manufacturers and explain the options available if you end up needing warranty service, an AC replacement, or an expert repair. 

Get HVAC Warranty Service in West Houston, Memorial, Katy, and Fulshear

As a RUUD Pro Partner, it is our policy at Terry’s A/C & Heating to register all manufacturer’s warranties on installation and keep documentation on file. We stay with the home no matter who owns it. We cover parts, labor, and warranty service if needed and we have a workmanship warranty on any labor we provide. It is always up to the new homeowner who they want to hire, but we keep detailed records and photos to make taking care of a cooling and heating system easy.

Read more about our history, see our reviews, and contact us at 281-495-7830 by voice or text if our family-owned AC company headquartered in Richmond, Texas, can be of service. 

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