Six years after a job, a former client calls back: cracks are appearing, and they mention the ten-year warranty. The tradesperson hangs up and digs through folders, old emails, a former insurer. The certificate from the year of the job is nowhere to be found. At this point, good faith is no longer the issue: with no proof, they're the one who may have to pay for the repair.
This scenario is far from rare. The ten-year warranty commits you for a decade, but the documents that prove it tend to go missing within months.
The day a client calls you back
The warranty covers damage that undermines the structural soundness of the work or makes it unfit for its purpose. It runs for ten years from the handover of the works. Throughout that period, a client can come back to you.
The catch: what matters is proving you were covered in the exact year of the job. A current certificate won't do if the dispute concerns work carried out seven years ago under a different policy.
Where the documents really go missing
Three moments put your records at risk:
The annual certificate. Your insurer issues one every year. You file it — or you don't — and the next year, the old one slips through the cracks. After ten years, you should have a stack of ten certificates; it's rarely complete.
Switching insurers. You change providers every two or three years for a better rate. Each switch scatters your history a little more, and you need to be able to prove continuous coverage.
The jobs pile up. Without a clear link between each job and the certificate that covered it, tracking down the right document six years later becomes detective work.
What actually protects the tradesperson
Three moves change everything:
Every year's certificate, kept without a single gap. This is the backbone of your defence. One missing year can be enough to open the door to a dispute.
Filing by job. Linking each job to the certificate in force that day saves precious time when a dispute lands. Scan them, then let automatic extraction read the dates and amounts on your certificates so you never have to key everything in by hand.
Proof of continuity. Keeping the full chain of policies, even the ones you replaced, proves you never had a gap in coverage.
Paper, spreadsheet or software: what to choose
A physical binder holds up while the business is small and as long as nothing burns, gets lost, or moulds away in a garage. It's fragile and you can't access it remotely.
A spreadsheet with scans in a folder does better: it's searchable and backed up. But it won't automatically link a job to its certificate, and it will never warn you when one is missing.
A centralisation tool ties every document to its job, keeps the full history, and alerts you before deadlines. For a building professional, a workspace built to track a tradesperson's contracts keeps every claim from turning into an archive dig.
Your loss-proof routine
- This year's ten-year warranty certificate archived
- Previous years' certificates kept, with no gaps
- Each job linked to the certificate that covered it
- A record of every insurer change kept
- Works handover reports filed
- Current insurer's contact details up to date
- A digital backup of every document
- An annual check that no certificate is missing
FAQ
What exactly does the ten-year warranty cover?
It protects the client against serious damage that undermines the structural soundness of the work or makes it unfit for use: structural cracks, major water ingress, partial collapse. It runs for ten years from the handover of the works.
What's at stake for a tradesperson who can't find their contract?
With no proof of cover in the year of the job, they may have to foot the repair bill themselves — sometimes several thousand euros. Beyond the cost, it's the client's trust that takes the hit.
Should I keep certificates from years with no disputes?
Yes. A dispute can surface up to ten years after a job. You need to be able to prove cover for the year in question, even long afterwards — every certificate counts.
I've switched insurers several times — how do I keep track?
Keep the full chain of policies. What matters is showing continuous coverage with no blank spells. Link each job to the insurer and the certificate in force on that date.
Is a recent certificate enough for an old dispute?
No. What counts is the cover in place when the disputed work was handed over. A certificate dated today proves nothing about a job from six years ago.
How do I stay ahead of the warranty renewal?
Note the policy's expiry date and set a reminder several weeks ahead. Even a short lapse leaves a gap in your coverage history.
The takeaway
The ten-year warranty isn't lost on the job site, but in the months that follow, when the certificate dissolves into the daily flow. A gap-free history, every job tied to its certificate, a digital backup: that's what makes the difference on the day — often years later — when a client calls back. Centralising this proof, alongside the rest of your contracts tracked job by job, spares you a frantic search under pressure.