North Carolina HB 203: Home Warranty Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 203

Short Title: Home Warranty Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Logan, Belk, and Longest (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
February 26, 2025
*H203-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO PLACE CONSUMER PROTECTIONS AROUND HOME SERVICE 2
AGREEMENTS AND TO DIFFERENTIATE THE STATUTE SECTIONS REGARDING 3
HOME AND VEHICLE SERVICE AGREEMENTS. 4
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 5
SECTION 1. G.S. 66-371 reads as rewritten: 6
"§ 66-371. Home appliance service agreement companies.agreements. 7
(a) This section Article applies to all home appliance service agreement companies 8
soliciting business agreements in use in this State, but it State. For the purposes of this section, a 9
"home service agreement" is a service agreement for a set list of appliances and systems in a 10
residence, regardless of whether the agreement is titled as a contract, home warranty, extended 11
home warranty, home appliance warranty, or other. 12
(a1) In addition to the requirements of G.S. 66-369.2, home service agreements shall 13
contain the following: 14
(1) A list of covered items that is referenced each time the agreement is discussing 15
coverage. 16
(2) A detailed description of the types of loss or damage the agreement covers. 17
(3) A detailed description of what is excluded from the agreement, in a prominent 18
location in the agreement and in bold face type. 19
(4) A statement of the purchaser's rights under G.S. 66-369.2(d)(2), in immediate 20
proximity to the space reserved for the signature of the purchaser of the 21
agreement, in bold face type of a minimum size of 10 points, in substantially 22
the following form: 23
"You, the purchaser of this service agreement, may cancel this contract at 24
anytime after purchase and receive a pro rata refund less any claims paid on 25
the agreement and a reasonable administrative fee, not to exceed ten percent 26
(10%) of the amount of the pro rata refund." 27
(a2) Home service agreement companies shall do all of the following: 28
(1) At the time of signing the agreement, provide either an electronic or paper 29
copy of the agreement to the purchasing consumer. The company shall also 30
have versions of the agreement available in formats that are accessible to 31
people with disabilities. 32
(2) Maintain a list of company-approved vendors available to perform services 33
under the agreement and allow customers the option to use an approved 34

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 203-First Edition
vendor. The vendor list shall be updated regularly to remove vendors that are 1
unresponsive or have declined to work with the company on a routine basis. 2
(3) Ensure that the repair, replacement, or maintenance requested under the 3
agreement is completed or scheduled for completion within five business days 4
of a consumer's claim for any covered item that is necessary for heating, 5
air-conditioning, or the functioning of a bathroom if there is only one 6
bathroom in the residence. If the company cannot have the claim completed 7
or scheduled for completion within five days, the company shall pay to have 8
an out-of-network vendor complete the service. 9
(a3) This Article does not apply to any of the following: 10
(1) performance Performance guarantees or warranties made by manufacturers in 11
connection with the sale of new home appliances. 12
(2) This section does not apply to any Any home appliance dealer licensed to do 13
business in this State (i) whose primary business is the retail sale and service 14
of home appliances; (ii) who that makes and administers its own service 15
agreements without association with any other entity; and (iii) whose service 16
agreements cover primarily appliances sold by the dealer to its retail 17
customers, provided that customers so long as the dealer complies with 18
G.S. 66-372 G.S. 66-369.2 and G.S. 66-373.G.S. 66-369.3. 19
(3) This section does not apply to any A warranty made by a builder or seller of 20
real property relating to home appliances that are sold along with real 21
property. 22
(4) This section does not apply to any An issuer of credit cards or charge cards 23
that markets home appliance service agreements as an ancillary part of its 24
business; provided, however, that such business so long as the issuer maintains 25
insurance in accordance with G.S. 66-373.G.S. 66-369.3. 26
(b) The following definitions apply in this section: 27
(1) "Home appliance" means a clothes washing machine or dryer; kitchen 28
appliance; vacuum cleaner; sewing machine; home audio or video electronic 29
equipment; home electronic data processing equipment; home exercise and 30
fitness equipment; home health care equipment; power tools; heater or air 31
conditioner, other than a permanently installed unit using interna