Written by Antoine Alexandre Diaz
Last updated March 10, 2025
The reputation of newly built homes in the UK is being questioned. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) performed a recent consumer survey of 2,000 UK individuals, which revealed a substantial perception problem. More over half of respondents (55%) believe that older homes are of higher quality than new builds. Surprisingly, nearly one-third (32%) called recently built dwellings “poor-quality.” Furthermore, 33% of those polled had little faith in housebuilders’ capacity to produce homes built to high standards, while 63% were concerned about potential problems with new construction properties.
This rising mistrust has serious repercussions. Many prospective purchasers are discouraged from seeing new-build homes as a feasible market alternative. The frequent surfacing of high-profile tales about building disasters in big housing complexes only adds to these negative attitudes.
Bridging the Trust Gap with the NHQB
To address these concerns and restore confidence in new-build homes, the government has implemented initiatives to improve construction quality and accountability. The establishment of the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) is important to this effort, as it tries to ensure that housebuilders maintain consistently high quality and service standards.
What Is the New Homes Quality Board?
The New Homes Quality Board (NHQB), established in 2021, is a government-backed project aimed at holding housebuilders and developers accountable for consistently high quality and customer service levels. According to the CIOB, almost 80% of housebuilders are currently registered with the NHQB, with many more on the way. The CIOB has asked the government to examine the NHQB in 2023 and propose making registration mandatory for all homebuilders.
The NHQB attempts to restore customer confidence in the quality of new constructions by educating them on measures that hold builders accountable for construction defects. This project not only benefits individual homeowners, but it also helps to raise overall housing standards, addressing some of the issues caused by negative impressions of newly built homes.
Being NHQB-compliant is an important endorsement for homebuilders and developers. It displays a dedication to providing high-quality houses through stringent quality assurance systems, guaranteeing that buildings are built to the highest standards.
New Homes Quality Code of Practice: Mandatory Requirements
To register as a housebuilder or developer with the NHQB, you must follow the New Homes Quality Code (The Code). The Code specifies required regulations to safeguard consumers and ensure high-quality homebuilding. If buyers believe their homebuilder has failed to satisfy these criteria, they can file a complaint with the New Homes Ombudsman, who oversees code infractions.
The fundamental principles of the Code include:
- Ethical treatment of customers: Customers should be handled ethically throughout the home-buying process. This includes giving clear, correct information and allowing clients to make their own judgements, aided by legal counsel and pre-completion inspections.
- High standards of construction: Housebuilders and developers must follow all building norms and standards to ensure that dwellings meet high-quality specifications. Legal completion should occur only once all necessary standards have been reached.
- Responsive after-sales service: Housebuilders are expected to respond to client issues quickly. This includes strong aftercare services, with a particular emphasis on helping vulnerable customers.
- Financial requirements: Builders must have sufficient funds to meet all of their Code duties. This includes the timely refund of deposits and any financial awards granted by the New Homes Ombudsman.
Preparing for NHQB Pre-Completion Inspection
When a buyer reserves a property from an NHQB-registered housebuilder, they are covered by the Code from the time of sale until two years after occupation. Buyers can also hire a skilled inspector to do a Pre-Completion Inspection, which assures that their new home meets the necessary quality requirements before it is legally completed.
Key aspects of the New Homes Quality Code:
- Pre-completion inspections: New house buyers might employ a professional inspector to check the home’s condition prior to legal completion. This inspection confirms that the property is “complete” and fulfils the relevant criteria.
- Aftercare and complaint procedures: Housebuilders must provide an effective aftercare service, which can be outsourced if necessary, to handle any “snagging” difficulties. The complaint procedure must be robust, ensuring that consumer problems are addressed in a timely and satisfactory manner. This service is necessary to cover a two-year term following purchase.
- Protection for vulnerable clients: The Code requires special attention to vulnerable customers, ensuring that their specialised requirements be identified and met during the home-buying process.
- Comprehensive information: Housebuilders must present customers with comprehensive information on the home’s tenure, future management costs, service charges, aftercare plans, and new home warranty agreements. This allows buyers to make fully informed judgements.
If a customer is disappointed with how the builder handles a snagging issue or fault, they can take their complaint to the New Homes Ombudsman.
Inspection Requirements
The NHQB Pre-Completion Inspection includes both the external and interior features of the property.
Exterior inspections guarantee that roofs, walls, windows, drains, walkways, and driveways are in good condition, properly constructed, and finished consistently.
Interior inspections include a room-by-room assessment of equipment, services, and fixtures. These examinations ensure that everything is firmly fixed, free of damage, and performing as intended. They also inspect the joinery, walls, ceilings, and floors to ensure a high level of finish with no flaws.
Any post-construction concerns discovered during these inspections must be resolved prior to legal completion. Typically, builders are supposed to remedy these faults within 14 calendar days.
What Does This Mean for Homeowners?
The New Homes Quality Code provides various protections and benefits to homeowners, ensuring that their interests are protected throughout the home-buying process.
- Prohibition of high-pressure sales tactics: Housebuilders are no longer permitted to utilise aggressive or forceful sales tactics. This allows buyers to make informed judgements without feeling rushed.
- Protection for vulnerable clients: Special procedures are in place to ensure that vulnerable customers are recognised and provided with necessary assistance throughout the purchasing process.
- Deposit protection: Any deposit made by the consumer is secured, offering peace of mind and financial security if problems develop.
- Transparency in the sales process: The Code requires thorough disclosure about the sales process, including future management and service fees. This guarantees that customers are fully informed before making a purchase.
- Fair contracts and agreements: Sales contracts and reservation agreements must be presented openly, according to the Code’s criteria. Reservation agreements, in particular, are now more equitable, and feature a cooling-off period to provide buyers with greater protection.
- Right to a pre-completion snagging survey: One of the most significant improvements is homeowners’ ability to order a snagging survey before finalising their acquisition. This relieves buyers of the responsibility of identifying construction faults on their own. Instead, they might employ a competent inspector to do a complete check of the property and report any issues or faults. These must be addressed by the builder or developer on a timely basis, with progress explicitly reported to the buyer and all issues fixed prior to legal completion.
- Homes must be completed before handover: The Code prohibits developers from incentivising buyers to move into unfinished homes, ensuring that new properties satisfy all necessary criteria before occupancy.
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What This Means for Housebuilders and Developers
Housebuilders and developers must prioritise quality and compliance not only for client happiness, but also to preserve a solid market reputation. Preparing for NHQB Pre-Completion inspections enables builders to “get it right the first time,” detecting and resolving issues during construction while subcontractors remain on-site.
Addressing possible concerns early on greatly decreases the number and expense of aftercare call-backs, resulting in a more efficient build process. More significantly, it improves the whole customer experience and instills long-term trust in your company.
This is why establishing a strong snagging and defect management procedure is critical. Housebuilders may ensure compliance with the New dwellings Quality Code by tracking and resolving any relevant concerns, resulting in dwellings that meet the highest standards. This allows the business to overcome the recurrent misconceptions and concerns that have plagued the housing market in recent years.
How Can 好色导航 Help?
好色导航 is ideally positioned to help builders and developers improve the quality of their projects and answer any worries about “pre-completion inspections.” Our software provides checklists for managing Pre-Handover Inspections. These inspections normally take place 2-4 weeks before formal completion and are designed to discover and correct any faults or defects before the property is finished.
好色导航 works closely with site teams to ensure that any necessary modifications are completed prior to legal completion, reducing the possibility of faults being identified during the new homeowner’s professional inspection under the New Homes Quality Code.
Conclusion
The New Homes Quality Code provides much-needed comfort to those acquiring a new-build house. While it cannot eliminate all concerns, it does greatly lower the risks linked with post-completion complications. Purchasing a property is an inherently stressful transaction, and the last thing a buyer wants is to discover issues after they’ve taken possession.
The Code is intended to safeguard vulnerable clients and discourage builders from forcing buyers to move into completed homes. This new structure requires homes to be fully constructed before new owners take occupation.
Furthermore, developers are now required to provide extensive information about the home during the sales process, including specifics about future management fees and service charges. This allows purchasers to make fully informed selections before committing to a purchase.
One of the most significant advantages of the Code is the ability for buyers to hire a professional snagging inspector before completion. This approach should reduce back-and-forth conflicts with builders over incomplete work. Any faults discovered must be remedied by the developer before the sale is completed, giving new homeowners peace of mind as they move into their finished homes.
