What a maintenance bond is
A maintenance bond, also called a warranty bond, guarantees your finished work is free of defects in materials and workmanship for a set period, often one or two years. Sometimes it's built into the performance bond; sometimes the owner wants it separately.
In Idaho
Idaho Code § 54-1926 mandates only a performance bond and a payment bond—each at least 85% of the contract amount—for public works contracts of $50,000 or more; it does not separately require a maintenance or warranty bond. Project owners include maintenance bonds in their own contract documents when needed. An Idaho Water Resource Board design-build contract (RFQ No. 2023-04) illustrates the prevailing practice: no separate maintenance bond is needed when the performance bond already covers a one-year warranty, but a maintenance bond equal to 10% of the contract price is required if the warranty period exceeds one year.
- Idaho Code § 54-1926 lists only performance and payment bonds as statutory requirements for public works contracts of $50,000 or more.
- When a project's performance bond already provides a one-year warranty, Idaho public-agency contracts typically waive the separate maintenance bond, per the IDWR contract model.
You need this bond if you're
- A contractor finishing public works with a warranty period
- A site contractor handing improvements over to a city or county
- Paving, concrete, roofing and landscaping contractors
- A developer whose subdivision bond is being released
What the surety looks at
Your business, credit and the finished project. Often handled together with the performance bond.