Creaky floor and premier guarantee.

[simba_ali]

I have posted about numerous issues regarding a  property I purchased roughly 2 years ago which you kindly gave great advice on, but now on an unrelated problem I find myself in a sticky situation.

My property is shared ownership and when I moved in I was told all my correspondence regarding snagging would have to go through the housing association who would pass it on to the developers.

I had many creaky areas of my floor, some of which has been fixed but one area they haven't tried anything apart from screwing the floor.  I asked for an update from the housing association who told me the developers have no idea what to do and to report it to the warranty provider.  I am very annoyed by the lack of effort.

The problem is I only have a record that I reported this to the housing association, not the developer within the one-year defect period. I have had very limited written communication with the developer apart from sending an email to their general enquires email address which I asked for written confirmation of the defect and received no reply.

My error in judgement was thinking that the housing association would back me up  seeing as they own the majority of the house  but I have basically been told to go away and deal with the insurance and pay the possible £1,000 excess. That's if they even accept my evidence that the developer knows about it.

I have tried demanding that the housing association honour that this should be covered under the one year period but they keep telling me the insurance is the only way forward.

Before I submit a claim any advice would be extremely appreciated

Kind regards

[New Home Expert]

Under the warranty, in your case Premier Guarantee, the home owner must pay the first £1,000 or so excess.  As you also realise the housebuilder is responsible for defects in the first 2 years after legal completion.

It is likely that the HA employed the housebuilder under a contract which limited them to just the one year you state.

I find that HA defer defects to housebuilders who in turn say they will only deal with the HA.
Both employing people who know nothing about how to get defects fixed or have the organisational skills to co ordinate the work require. It is far easier to defer to others and carry on messing about on Facebook or buying stuff on Amazon that doing the job they are being paid for.

It never ceases to amaze me that HAs as majority owners don't seem interested in having defects in a home they own rectified in the DLP.

As for the way forward, I can only suggest taking legal action.
Try your CAB and they will give you a solicitor that will give you an hour for free.

I cannot second guess what any HA will do. They defy logic!

[simba_ali]

Thank you for the quick reply

Would you suggest trying Premier Guarantee before taking legal action?

I was going to arrange a warranty claim and fight my corner that it was reported within the first year and the excess should be more like £100 stated in the policy. I'm sure there is a get out clause for this as with all insurers.

My problem with paying the excess of £1,000 is I feel if I'm paying anyway I may as well hire an independent builder who cares about their work rather than let these cowboys back in to the property.

Kind regards

[New Home Expert]

You will only pay the £1,000 excess if Premier Guarantee agree the work needs doing.
And yes, £1,000 will go a long way to pay for others to do the work properly.
All in all, it makes this warranty somewhat worthless.