Recent Posts

41

NHBC Warranty / Re: Leaking roof NHBC have accepted the claim

« Last Post by New Home Expert on November 21, 2023, 06:22:35 am »

I don't believe that a cash offer from the NHBC even if refused fulfils their obligations under the warranty.
They can offer it, but under the warranty the obligation is to rectify defects covered by the warranty, not pay-off claimants. 

That said many new home buyers do take the NHBC money, especially when it is minor defect for example, unsightly poor workmanship brickwork, where the buyer takes the £2,500 and has the money and lives with the brickwork.

The warranty lasts until rectified, if the defects are notified before the warranty period expires.
This means that even if the defects are addressed and not done properly, the NHBC still on the hook.
But, be aware they can play the "it's a maintenance issue"  "storm damage" "erosion" "normal wear and tear"  to avoid paying out!

At the end of the day you can complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Services as NHBC warranty is insurance.
But the FOS take a long time, with first an assessor who after six months, will try and fob you of with a few hundred and you then insist on an actual ombudsman which will be 3 months before they even allocate it to an Ombudsman and another 3 months before they reach a decision.
I know this, as I am a year into this process with a complaint about Nationwide Building Society.

42

NHBC Warranty / Re: Leaking roof NHBC have accepted the claim

« Last Post by Caz37 on November 20, 2023, 04:02:21 pm »

Thanks for the response.

I was talking to someone else in the estate who has similar issues & apparently the NHBC said if they don't accept the payment then there's nothing else that can be done as the NHBC has agreed to settle but he would be refusing to accept the payment. Essentially the NHBC has fulfilled their obligations.
My 10 year warranty has run out but the problems started within the cover period & were accepted.

Wondering if that is also going to cause any issues?

43

NHBC Warranty / Re: Leaking roof NHBC have accepted the claim

« Last Post by New Home Expert on November 20, 2023, 07:44:34 am »

Do not accept any cash settlement from the NHBC.

Instruct the NHBC in writing to arrange for the works to be carried out.
Everyone (housebuilder/Roofer and now the NHBC) is avoiding the cost of a scaffold in the hope you will accept cash and go away.

You are correct, the £2,500 may not even cover the cost of scaffolding and re roofing could be as much as £10,000-£15,000.

44

Snagging and defects / Re: Scary looking hairline crack across the ceiling

« Last Post by New Home Expert on November 20, 2023, 07:40:01 am »

First of all, any crack is a defect. Secondly it is not due to "settling" it is due to movement or drying out.

Your ceiling crack is strange as it is continuous. Ceiling boards should be staggered.
Secondly, the joint should be taped and jointed and they are unlikely to crack.

So what is the cause?  My guess is the water tank in the roof space may not be correctly supported and positioned. Another reason could be the board edges do not line up with a ceiling joist or noggin.

Youi really must insist this is looked at and the cause addressed before you legally complete. Do not be pressured into completing for Christmas!
Aa always my advice is to have your home professionally snagged and inspected before you legally complete. You now have a legal right to do so!

Who is the housebuilder?

45

Snagging and defects / Re: 6 Month Bathroom Repairs

« Last Post by New Home Expert on November 20, 2023, 07:33:07 am »

Firstly, I am amazed that Storey Homes are not signed up to the New Homes Ombudsman Service I couldn't see then on the register among the 500 housebuilders that are either active or "pending"
https://www.nhqb.org.uk/register-of-developers.html

You have been very patient and given them more than enough time to respond.
The NHBC will be another lengthy process, which may or may not be successful.


For anyone reading this post please see what buying a Storey New Home could mean for you!

"We Wont Forget You
We have a dedicated customer care team who are on hand to help once you have moved in. You can get in touch with our customer services team if you have any problems. We will also visit you once you have settled in to make sure you are happy."

The above statement taken from Storey Homes website!  beware!

What to do?
Persist with the NHBC. Ultimately they can bring pressure on Storey Homes to fix the defects but I doubt that it will be done either quickly or properly.
Write to your local MP (he/she will want your vote next year!) as the New Homes Ombudsman should have been Statutory and therefore a legal requirement. What we have currently is an industry-led Ombudsman, yet it is still far better than the useless Consumer Code for Home Builders which should be gone by now.
Write to your local paper and the nationals. Defective new homes have gone off the agenda in recent years due to Covid and the goings on at Westminster, but defective new homes have not gone away.
Finally, you could post on social media. Twitter is good.

46

Snagging and defects / Re: Meeting with site managers over ‘problems’iwo

« Last Post by New Home Expert on November 20, 2023, 07:07:51 am »

You have made a few mistakes:
The biggest was not having your home professionally snagged and inspected before you legally completed.
What you now have I would hope shows the value of a snagging inspection to anyone else reading your post!

Your second mistake was not writing to the builder straight away.  No one should ever trust the site manager! Plus, the head office need to know when these problems arise not days or weeks after a site manager has failed you.

Now for some good news.  You can complain to the New Homes Ombudsman Service, but only after you have exhausted the builder's complaints procedure. There are hoops for you to jump through.

When you meet anyone from the builder, If they are registered, which is why I always need to know who the house builder is!!! please do mention the New Homes Ombudsman. From what you have said, I'm guessing Persimmon.

You can and should be as angry as required. Remember the squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Do not accept bullshit excuses for what you have, it should not be like that. Say you will write to the CEO of the housebuilder (and do it) if the defects are not 100% sorted in the next 7 days.

Your house has been built to an appalling standard and the leaks you have must have been evident for some time. It just demonstrates to me that your home has in all likelihood not been inspected at every stage and certainly prior to your taking the keys.  The site plumbing contractors must be really incompetent. Perhaps you should name them here too!

You could ask if they would buy the house back or perhaps that may be an option with the New Homes Ombudsman a few months on if things are not sorted.

Finally all the mould is caused by the house drying out which it cant due to all the leaks.  You will need carpets replaced and anything lese damaged by mould.

47

NHBC Warranty / Leaking roof NHBC have accepted the claim

« Last Post by Caz37 on November 19, 2023, 03:10:42 pm »

So NHBC have accepted my claim for a leaking roof back in February 2023.

Said they have contacted the builders who sent round the original roofers who inspected from inside the attic.

Nothing has happened since.

No one has actually been on the roof removing tiles to have a truly good idea what the problem is.

The NHBC is guessing what the problem is.
Sagging eaves trays and/or inadequate felt overlap.

They have offered a cash settlement of £2,500 which I am worried won't be enough so didn't accept.

I live in a 3-storey town house so feel scaffold alone may be £1,000.

I am struggling to get any roofers out to even give quotes so that I have a ballpark figure to go back to the NHBC with.

I'm at a loss as to what to do ATM.

Do I chase NHBC?

Do I try chasing the roofers/builders?

Thanks

48

Snagging and defects / Scary looking hairline crack across the ceiling

« Last Post by borlorjee on November 15, 2023, 11:36:49 pm »

I know hairline cracks are just cosmetic cracks due to settling but this crack that I have is in the middle of my room and runs across the whole ceiling from one side to another. It looks so terrifying every time I look up and I haven't even moved into my new build.

Could someone help me have a look at this to reassure me that it's nothing to worry about? And for context, I don't have anything stored in my attic.

Thank you!

49

Snagging and defects / 6 Month Bathroom Repairs

« Last Post by Distraught on November 15, 2023, 09:23:56 pm »

Myself and my partner purchased a property in March 2023. Unfortunately, our builder isn't signed up to the New Homes Ombudsman Service. Only to the 'Consumer Code' - which I'm fairly certain they've breached in more than one instance.

Initially there was some issues around the bath and the overflow connected to the bath, as it wasn't attached properly and therefore was too risky to use. This took them a few weeks to sort. Despite raising it with the on-site team after a week of noticing it, it took until a spontaneous survey from site management which must have went back directly to someone at a higher level who intervened and got an on-call plumber almost instantaneously the same day.

Once resolved, for roughly a month or so we had full use of the bath and shower in the main bathroom. There was some snags around the shower-screen not being squared between the two walls (shower screen was at a slight angle etc) and the bath being out of level which then created subsequent problems. We found contractors would appear, do half a repair and then find a reason as to why they weren't able to complete the works. We had a bath and shower which were un-usable for roughly a month before I eventually logged a formal complaint. Initially, this got some traction from the same individual who got the on-call plumber, they came around with laser levels to check the bath and the tiling. They started to repair some aspects and the site manager was given a deadline.

Unfortunately, the site manager couldn't achieve the deadline set by his manager and subsequently a plumbers attempt to 'rush' the repairs damaged our flooring (which we self funded), the shower screen and tiling. The shower screen was re-instated by the plumber who damaged our flooring but never sealed, so we couldn't ever use it. I then submitted a follow up to the complaint, as they hadn't followed their own complaint policy of providing a final response/written response within a few weeks of a complaint being raised.

I gave them plenty of time to respond to the complaint. Roughly 3 months passed by with the shower being in position, albeit unusable due to no silicone sealant. Finally, having had enough - I complained to the NHBC in August, who asked for a final response (which I was never provided with) and they subsequently intervened to write to the builder on my behalf requesting they complete the works properly. The NHBC highlighted as the floor wasn't fitted by the builder, they're unable to assist with that aspect of the matter and I would need to seek payment separately.

A common pattern I recognise whenever Storey Homes get told to do something, they seemingly act interested and make an attempt to start the works but then subsequently stop. They removed the shower screen, its has been out of place again for 1 & 1/2 months. They attempted a tile repair, their tiler made a bodge and then tried to mask the damage by filling it with grout (presumably as it was too much effort to remove the tiles without a plumber to remove the shower fixings). The tiler wasn't able to complete the works he started anyway, leaving us with tiles missing on the walls because there wasn't a plasterer on site. I flagged I wasn't happy with the attempt to disguise damaged tiles and made multiple calls to aftercare chasing this up. To this date, we're still no further forward and they don't really reply. On phone calls they insist they'll speak to the site manager and get it sorted but 3 weeks of phone calls has resulted in no resolution.

I've since contacted the NHBC again to ask how long is a 'reasonable' set of time for these repair to be undertaken. I've also sought some legal advise which verified this is highly likely a "breach of contract" as the property wasn't provided in a reasonable condition. I genuinely can't see any other option beyond a small claims procedure to recover the flooring cost, disruption costs amongst the potential cost to repair the shower properly?

Any advice would be greatly received.

50

Snagging and defects / Meeting with site managers over ‘problems’iwo

« Last Post by 810H on November 14, 2023, 10:18:21 pm »

Quick overview… I completed on new build property 25 days ago. No one from site has visited post completion even though the site manger on showing me the property on completion highlighted a number of 'mistakes' and assured me they would be rectified the following week. No one apart from an emergency plumber to fix one leak has visited post completion.

To date I have had:
- leak through downstairs toilet ceiling after cold water disconnected under bath
- leak through kitchen ceiling from ensuite shower which has been fitted wrong so was already not  useable, still not sure as to cause of this/ where water came from
- flooded ensuite from shower day after unknown location leak
- leak on radiator which has now stopped my central heating working properly and was present on completion so has created a rust stain on carpet
- thick green fuzzy mould to bottom of 3 out of 4 walls of living room, one wall is the party wall with next door. Mould is now spreading to carpet under furniture
- under stairs cupboard carpet has a second carpet of mould on top
- front door has been wrongly hung so difficult to close, doesn’t line up with frame and is creating draught
- window on stairs hasn’t been sealed
- kitchen window locks don’t work
- damaged carpets (provided as a loyalty incentive)
- damaged, too short internal doors
- faulty extractor fan
- wrongly cut kitchen worktop
- no trickle vents fitted
- smell of drains
- what can only be described as black mulch oozing out of walls when curtain poles/ blinds put up
Plus multiple other things, every day seems to bring something new.

When the ensuite flooded over the weekend, I couldn’t take anymore and sent an email to customer services showing the extent of the mould and new leak. I asked for an address to make a formal complaint about build quality and health risks the house poses having mould, they took my email to be a formal complaint and are now investigating. Today I have had an email from the site manager explaining he’s been on leave for the last two weeks, there are two site managers on the site I have purchased my property, that he is aware I have escalated my concerns and asking for a meeting.

Have I been unreasonable, escalating my concerns?
How do I approach next weeks meeting given how disillusioned I feel about the whole situation.
I’ll be honest if I could give the house back I think at this point I would because it’s become the house that keeps on giving for all the wrong reasons.