Help! My New Build Has Faults

Every year, the House Builders Federation (HBF) and the New Homes Warranty Scheme (NHBC) have performed customer surveys on new builds throughout the UK. This is to gauge feedback from homeowners and whether there are any improvements that can be made. In 2021, the National New Homes Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) determined that 95% of new homeowners reported a new build snag list back to their builder and around 27% of these had over 16 defects listed.

Although the majority of the statistics were positive, where homeowners were satisfied and would buy a new build again, there are still problems. Around 28% dealt with more problems than they were expecting. So, what can new homeowners do? 

New Build Warranty

Though a new build has not been lived in before, this does not mean the property will be without fault. There are certain defects and new build snags that may go unnoticed and then cause problems later down the line. This is why a new build warranty is put in place to ensure that if these problems do arise, there is insurance to solve these. It’s one of the major benefits of buying a new build, as this is typically not offered when moving into a pre-existing property.

It is important to understand the terms and conditions of your new build warranty. During the first two years, if any issues are discovered, the warranty typically will cover these. So, it is important to make sure you are making your builder aware of these defects. Between three and ten years, only the major defects (such as its structural integrity) will be covered and after the ten-year mark, homeowners will have to rely on their own insurance policy.

Therefore, homeowners should be aware that a new build snag may go unnoticed for several years. Builders will be concentrating on ensuring the new build meets all legal regulations. However, this means that several minor and cosmetic defects will go unnoticed. Without detection, these defects may snowball into a major concern, which then may be too late to be fixed under the warranty.

New Build Snagging List

To ensure that this does not happen, homeowners should consider undergoing a new build snagging inspection. A snagging survey is a thorough assessment of your property, both interior and exterior. The goal is to identify any new build snags and report these in a comprehensive list that can then be passed back to the builder. 

Although homeowners can perform these themselves once they move in, professional snaggers have years of expertise in finding even the smallest of mistakes. They analyse all aspects of the property, including the garden and exterior brickwork, the interiors and the functions of various utilities. We have noticed, during a snagging list, several minor and major defects may arise. So, it is important to spot these straight away in order to get them fixed efficiently. Find out more about the most common new build snags on our previous blog here.  

What Can You Do About Problems?

After the completion of a snagging survey, homeowners should pass on the findings to their builders. However, there is a chance that they will not take any notice of this and refuse to fix a new build snag. In these cases, it is important to contact the NHBC with your complaints to ensure that these issues are dealt with.

Make sure to keep all of your records. This includes communication with your builder (emails, text messages etc.). Prove that you have pursued the matter and that it is the builder that is refusing, even though you are within the timeframe of the new build warranty. This is where you can show your snagging list and state the defects that have been uncovered. 

Once the matter is resolved, the builder should be able to fix these defects. We recommend utilising a new build snagging inspection before your move-in date to ensure that these matters are addressed promptly.

Home Snagging UK

At Home Snagging, our team of snaggers pay attention to the smallest of details. With experience in building houses, we know the tricks of the trade and how certain builders will try to deceive you. Especially first-time buyers. That’s why our comprehensive snagging survey will uncover a new build snag that otherwise would cost the homeowners expenses in the future. 

For more information on our snagging surveys, or to see how we can help you, fill in our form here. Make sure to follow us on Instagram and Facebook.