Quick answer
Partly. The manufacturer's base parts warranty generally stays with the furnace when a house sells, but the longer registered coverage often does not transfer on its own. Trane allows a transfer within 90 days of the sale for a fee; Lennox keeps its extended coverage with the original owner. Installer labour warranties and protection plans usually end at closing unless the contract says otherwise.
A furnace warranty is transferable when you sell your house only in part, and the part that transfers depends on the brand. The manufacturer's base parts warranty generally follows the furnace to the next owner. The longer registered coverage is where the brands split: one lets it transfer if the buyer files inside a deadline, another keeps it with the original owner. Anything promised by the installer or a protection-plan company is a separate contract and usually stops at closing.
Brand rules differ: what the published terms say
These are the manufacturers' own published terms as of October 2026. The certificate for your specific model governs, so treat this as a map and confirm by serial number.
- Trane: the Registered Limited Warranty can be transferred to a new owner if the transfer is filed within 90 days of the sale, and a transfer fee applies. The remaining term carries over. The Base Limited Warranty needs no transfer and is available to the new owner automatically.
- Lennox: the basic limited warranty is transferable to subsequent owners. The extended limited warranty that comes with registration is for the original owner only, with one exception: labour coverage added to it can pass to the next owner.
- Carrier: its public warranty page sets out the registered terms, 10 years on parts or 5 years of parts with 3 of labour, but does not spell out what a later owner receives. That detail is on the model's warranty certificate.
- Goodman, Amana, Rheem, York, KeepRite and Napoleon: read the certificate. Lifetime heat exchanger promises on several brands are worded for the original registered owner and become a fixed term for anyone after.
The deadline is the trap. A 90-day transfer window starts at closing, a seller cannot file it in advance because it needs the buyer's name, and most buyers do not hear about it until it has passed. Put it on the closing checklist.
What a buyer should request before closing
- Model and serial number: a clear photo of the rating plate inside the furnace door
- Registration confirmation, or a printout from the brand's warranty lookup showing the install date and term
- The install invoice, with the contractor's name and TSSA registration number
- Maintenance records: dated tune-up invoices for each year
- Any labour warranty or protection-plan contract, so you can read its transfer clause
- Confirmation that the furnace is owned, not rented; what happens to a furnace rental contract on a sale is a separate problem
The invoice matters most. It fixes the date the warranty started, and without proof of the install date a manufacturer may count from the date of manufacture, which can be months earlier.
Dealer labour warranties and protection plans usually end at the sale
A labour warranty is a contract between the installer and the customer who paid for the job, and unless it says transferable it ends when that customer sells. Third-party protection plans and extended service agreements vary: some allow a transfer with written notice and a fee inside a set window, others terminate on a change of ownership. Prepaid maintenance plans follow whatever their terms say. A seller can ask the installer to confirm in writing whether the labour coverage will be honoured for the buyer, and a buyer should not assume it will be.
For sellers: turn the paperwork into a selling point
A furnace with documents sells better than one with a story. Before listing, run the serial number through the manufacturer's lookup, gather the invoice and tune-up records in one folder, and have the system checked. A pre-sale HVAC inspection gives the buyer a dated, written report on the furnace and air conditioner, which a general home inspection does not; what a home inspection misses on a furnace explains the gap.
- Furnace tune-up with a dated record before listing: $120–$250
- Diagnostic visit if the inspection finds a fault: $90–$150, folded into the repair if you proceed
- Most furnace repairs a buyer might otherwise negotiate over: $150–$800
For buyers: the first 90 days
- Look up the serial number in the first week and note what coverage is on record.
- If the brand allows a transfer, file it and pay the fee before the deadline.
- Book a tune-up so your own maintenance record starts in your name.
- If the furnace is old enough that the warranty question is moot, read buying a house with a 20-year-old furnace before you waive conditions.
ZK Mechanical inspects furnaces for sellers and buyers across Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton and Mississauga and can look up what coverage a serial number carries. Book an inspection or ask a warranty question and have the model and serial number ready.