New Homes Quality Code Review

The New Homes Quality Code Review kicked off this week.

Since its launch in 2022, many of the big developers have signed up to the Code, including Barratt (Nov 2022), Persimmon (March 2024) and Bellway (Oct 2022). The Code does not cover homes built by developers before their ‘activation date’. Older developments will continue to fall under the protection of the Consumer Code for Home Builders.

This is first official review of the Code which aims to assess the effectiveness and robustness of the Code and identify areas for development. You can view the current code here.

At HomeOwners Alliance we have spent years campaigning for better protection for buyers who purchase new-build homes so look forward to giving our view.

The review is being led by independent Chair, Lewis Shand Smith and representatives include our Chief Executive, Paula Higgins, developers Cube Homes and Miller Homes, the New Homes Ombudsman Service, and representatives from conveyancers, warranty providers and surveying organisations.

We will report on the review’s progress throughout this year as well as its final report and recommendations. In the meantime, please tell us your views on your new build experience in the first 2 years of homeownership, especially whether and how the Code helped you get issues raised and solved, and your suggestions for improvement. We are particularly interested to hear from those who have taken up the offer of a pre-completion inspection and those who have had to deal with garden/drainage issues in their new home.

Comment below or email us at hello@hoa.org.uk

What does the New Homes Code Cover?

The New Homes Quality Code, published by the New Homes Quality Board, is a code of practice for the house building industry that aims to drive up the quality of new build homes and strengthen protections for customers.

New build home buyers who have concerns about the buying process, snagging or building defects that arise within the first two years from reserving the property or completing the purchase. After the first two years, homebuyers will need to go directly to your warranty provider if they discover a problem.

The Code is designed to:

• Protect vulnerable customers by prohibiting high-pressure selling and requiring any deposits the customer pays to their builder to be protected.
• Require the developer to provide all relevant information about the home during the sales process, including tenure and any future management or service charges.
• Set out requirements for a fair reservation agreement, including a ‘cooling off’ period; and sales contract requirements.
• Allow customers to have a professional pre-completion snagging inspection of their home on their behalf.
• Require builders to have an effective after care service in place to deal with any customer issues, ‘snagging’ or problems with their new home; together with a robust complaints process. If a customer is not satisfied with how any complaint they have made has been dealt with, they can refer their complaint to the independent New Homes Ombudsman Service.

It is worth noting that:

1. The Code does not cover issues discovered after 2 years from the purchase of the new build home. At this point the homeowner will need to speak to the warranty provider.
2. The current Code does not deal with major defects arising in the first two years, these complaints should be handled by the warranty body. The Code only covers the sales process, the legal process until completion and the after-sales service. 
3. The Code does not cover shared owners or those buying an investment property.
4. It is not mandatory for developers to sign up to this Code, there are other codes but they are generally fairly similar in scope. 

Read more in our guide New Homes Ombudsman and Consumer Codes explained

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Angela Kerr Director, Editor

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