Housing: Standards
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to increase the powers of mortgage holders to hold developers to account in relation to inadequate construction.
Answered by Matthew Pennycook
The government is aware of the challenges faced by mortgage holders and all other purchasers of new build properties with building safety and other defects.
Presently, most new home warranties are 10 years in length and are regularly a requirement placed on potential borrowers by mortgage providers.
The developer is often held accountable for the first two years of this period, with the rest of the period covered by the warranty provider.
Where issues arise with a new home, the government would urge new build homeowners to check the terms of any warranty their home may be under to see if the developer can be held accountable for rectifying any issues before referring back to the warranty provider. Where a homeowner is dissatisfied with the service given, warranty providers should have a clear complaints procedure for warranty holders to follow. If this still does not resolve the issue, the next step would be to refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for a decision.
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