Please help advice needed

[Spicyicy]

Desperately seeking advice.
We bought our new build house from Countryside Properties just over two years ago.
From within the first month we have been asking the builder to rectify faults with the house.

Along with many others with the same design of house we have had serious faults with our houses so much so that we have had to move out of the properties for some months (at the developer's cost).
Most of the other home owners have had their issues rectified now but some of us including myself are still living in temporary accommodation.
We were promised the works programmed would only take 6-8 weeks, yes I say this programme of works, there has been many "programmes of works"!
We are now in week 13 and we have seen no work on our property apart from during the first week - our house has been ripped apart with all carpets and flooring ripped out and then left boarded up.
We have attempted to contact the developer but have been ignored, all we get is a weekly contact with the works they are intending to do, but that's all we get.
We have been supported over the last year by our councillor and he has mediated for us and agrees the situation is unacceptable.
We have 2 young dogs so have to be in the property when they need access in the past. Currently have taken 19 days off work to support different programs of work.

My question is what options do we have?
All we want is to be back in our house and for Countryside Properties to recognise all the difficulties they have put us through, but most of all to communicate with us! We have sent so many emails and feel like we are being ignored.
I see that Wingrove Law comes recommended, should I start using a external party to take action on our behalf?

Any advice would be most appreciated

[New Home Expert]

What you have suffered at the hands of Countryside Properties is clearly unacceptable.
In the first instance they have failed miserably to build your home with any kind of care or professionalism resulting in what must some very serious, expensive and extensive defects.  With proper experienced supervision during construction, in all probability this could have been avoided.
At least Countryside are attending to rectify the defects throughout the development albeit in an haphazard way with very little liason with occupiers.

You are clearly due some level of financial compensation. The amount will be based on your suffering and inconvenience.  Wingrove Law does nto come recommended, but they are, as far as I know, the only UK solicitor that specialises in taking house builders to court to get justice for new home buyers.  Their website says they can start a class action against house builders where all buyers with problem band together and share costs. If I were you, I would write to the Countryside Properties CEO and ask him if he would be prepared for you to come to his home, rip up his carpets and then do nothing for 13 weeks.  You should also contact Geoff Peters at Wingove Law. If house builders get away with situations like yours, what incentive will any of them have to improve their operations to prevent a re occurrence?

[Spicyicy]

Thanks so much for your reply.
Yes we believe there are some serious defects too.
Countryside has carried out both an internal survey which was done without any of the floor boards lifted and a external survey which they have not made available to us.
They stated to us that this was a contributing factor to the delay as they was awaiting the report.
I am lead to believe they are using this report to sue the contractors they used to build the houses.
Countryside have locked us out from our properties under the instruction that it is a construction site and unsafe for public to enter.
This is understandable but I did ask if I could sign a waver, to which I got no reply.
I am concerned that I am not being told the full truth as to the full extent of the problems.
Am I entitled to see the external report?
We have been able to obtain picture from inside the property, don't ask me how!
And I am concerned that more issues have raised from what we originally thought.
We have a 3 storey town house which has I beams spanning the floors, we raised many emails regarding flexing of the floors causing the ceilings to crack.

In the largest area the living room on the second floor they have installed mainly 5 inch beams across a 5 meter span but for a 1/4 of the room they have installed 3 inch beams and these do not span the whole length they are spread by a side beam which they have attached hangers on. The 3 inch beams do not butt fully up to the side beam, there are gaps of around 10mm and supported by hangers. Don't think this is correct.

We have also notice that some of the beams are spilt at the ends from where the have nailed through them.

Where they have taken up all the fibre board flooring, they have obviously used a skill saw and they have damaged the I beams in places cutting into them by about 3mm.

Also they where they have taken up the fibre boards in places they go under stud walls, what would be the correct way of replacing them. Unless they take down the stud walls, it looks like the flooring will be substandard, leading to more cracking in the stud walls and creaking floors.

I will attach some pics to show what I mean

Again many thanks for all advice given.

[New Home Expert]

You are entitled to see the reports and everything else concerning your home and you.
Under the Data Protection Act make a Subject Access Request  to Countryside and request everything.
My view is that Countryside don't want their customers to know just how bad it is and are trying to fix it as quietly as they can.

[Spicyicy]

Attached images of Countrysides work

[Spicyicy]

More images

[Spicyicy]

And more

[New Home Expert]

Absolutely truly shocking.
New home from hell.
My advice is get it valued and get Countryside Properties to buy this dreadful new home back from you.
It will be nothing but trouble even after it's all been put back!

[Lily70]

Shocking and unbelievable!
Is not the house covered with NHBC warranty?
I hate to imagine what I may see in my new build flat, if it ever gets completed.

[New Home Expert]

Just because any new home is covered by a warranty be it NHBC or one of the minor ones, and has to comply by law with Building Regulations, there is absolutely no certainty that it will be built correctly and to the required standard.

The shortage of experienced and qualified site managers who know what they should be looking for and at  has resulted in most sites being "managed and supervised" by "trained-up" ex forklift drivers and ex trades.
Extensive remedial work like this will become even more commonplace.
Lily, you are buying Crest right?
If you think this was bad, you may like to check this out!
http://www.mybigdecision.co.uk   More like buying a Crest new home was  "my bad decision"

[Spicyicy]

So have spoken with Wingrove Law and they have given me a lot to think about.
Such a massive decision to take the legal route.

The more I dig the more concerns I have.

We have BCI beams installed and there seems to be a number of issues with them
Ends are splitting due to nails being driven in within the one and half inch limit
Holes for cables being drilled too close together.
But the main issue is that the beams seem to be too small for the span of the room. See above pictures.

[Lily70]

Just because any new home is covered by a warranty be it NHBC or one of the minor ones, and has to comply by law with Building Regulations, there is absolutely no certainty that it will be built correctly and to the required standard.

The shortage of experienced and qualified site managers who know what they should be looking for and at  has resulted in most sites being "managed and supervised" by "trained-up" ex forklift drivers and ex trades.
Extensive remedial work like this will become even more commonplace.
Lily, you are buying Crest right?
If you think this was bad, you may like to check this out!
http://www.mybigdecision.co.uk   More like buying a Crest new home was  "my bad decision"

I wonder how NHBC has accepted these Crest homes in St Francis Park development in Haywards Heath, West Sussex?
Makes me feel that I am somewhere in a third world country where you can bribe authorities like NHBC so that they would accept the unacceptable.
It feels like there is no consumer protection in this country.

As to me, I am buying a flat. If my washing machines leaks because Crest staff member connected it improperly, at least two more flats on floors below mine will be affected.

When the lease agreement requires "to wash windows at least once every four weeks", you would expect the completed property to be spotless  

[New Home Expert]

We have BCI beams installed and there seems to be a number of issues with them
Ends are splitting due to nails being driven in within the one and half inch limit
Holes for cables being drilled too close together.
But the main issue is that the beams seem to be too small for the span of the room. See above pictures.

This could well be a design issue with the manufacturers and builders fighting each other as to who is responsible.
This will no doubt mean the legal route for you will be even more contentious.

[New Home Expert]

It feels like there is no consumer protection in this country.

As to me, I am buying a flat. If my washing machines leaks because Crest staff member connected it improperly, at least two more flats on floors below mine will be affected.

When the lease agreement requires "to wash windows at least once every four weeks", you would expect the completed property to be spotless 

There is no specific consumer protection for new home buyers in this country and here lies the problem.
You have more consumer protection buying a Mars bar or a £10 toaster from Tesco than you do buying a £300,000 new home from a housebuilder.

I have written at length several times to my MP Andrew Tyrie and also to Eric Pickles, Nick Boles and Brandon Lewis - all three government ministers are in a position to do something about it.
Unsurprisingly, all replies were either exactly the same (as have been those sent ot other people who also wrote) or along the same lines.
The official position is: 
1) New home buyers can use the Consumer Code for Home Builders and the Adjudication Scheme to seek redress against house builders. But........this does not allow for claims due to defects in homes.
2) The homes have a new home warranty and the warranty providers will sort out and defects.
3) New homes like other new buildings have to comply with the Building Regulations. But........it is the responsibility of builders to comply, not those inspecting to enforce compliance.
4) Amazingly, they tell me that all consumers (including new homebuyers) have the right to take civil legal action against their housebuilder using existing laws and the Consumer Protection Regulations 2008. 
They say that because of 1-4 above, there is no need for further regulation or my suggested New Homes Ombudsman.