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 Tennessee
Tennessee's public works bonding statute, T.C.A. § 12-4-201, mandates payment and performance bonds on public contracts exceeding $100,000 but does not require a separate maintenance or warranty bond. No other state statute requires one statewide. Project owners—public or private—may include maintenance bond requirements in individual contract documents.
- The Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service (CTAS) guidance on construction project bonds lists only bid, performance, and payment bonds as required types; no maintenance bond appears.
- Tennessee courts have held that ongoing maintenance obligations constitute separate contractual duties from original construction work (Tri-State Insurance Co. v. East Tennessee Sprinkler Co., Tenn. Ct. App.), which can extend surety liability beyond the statute of repose under Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-202.
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.