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New Homes Quality Code of Practice

Posted on 06/01/2022 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

House builders’ new Code of Practice

The New Homes Quality Board [NHQB] “championing quality new homes and Better consumer outcomes” “Code of Practice” – “New Homes Quality Code” – “House Building Consumer Code”- “The Code” call it what you like, but is it has the potential to be pretty much as useless as the Consumer Code for Homebuilders [CCHB] it replaces, unless it is properly and independently enforced.

Will the onus be on the new homebuyer to prove (or have physical evidence) that Code requirements were breached, as was the case with the old and ineffective, CCHB, or will house builders now be required to show physical evidence to prove they complied with Code requirements?

An industry Code of Practice was originally recommended following an Inquiry by the APPG EBE with their report, “Better Redress for Homebuyers” published in June 2018. Report recommendation (5) states: “Industry-wide code of practice: We are recommending that government, warranty providers, housebuilders and consumer groups work together to draw up a code of practice which would be used by the New Homes Ombudsman to adjudicate on disputes.”

Subsequently, the Government consultation ‘Redress for purchasers of New Build Homes and the New Homes Ombudsman‘ finally published – 102 days later than the 84-day target – on 24 February 2020, again championed the suggestion of an industry-created Code of Practice and eventually this new house builders’ Code of Practice was created by the NHQB.

As I said in a previous blog article at the time, Redress? When will New Homes Ombudsman be operational? any industry collaborated/created Code of Practice will invariably be used to limit or restrict the redress available to new homebuyers and the effectiveness and powers of the New Homes Ombudsman (as has been the case with the industry’s own CCHB).

This must not be permitted.

The New Homes Ombudsman whether voluntary or eventually statutory, must not be confined to decisions arising only from a breach of requirements of the Code of Practice and every complaint should be judged on its own individual circumstances and merits.

The New Homes Quality Board finally published its new “Code of Practice” for house builders and developers on 16 December 2021. Having taken the time to digest its expansive 30 pages (8,752 words) and a further 17 pages of “Developer Guidance” it would appear to be much more detailed and far less ambiguous as the Consumer Code for Homebuilders (CCHB) (11 pages 3,034 words) it replaces.

Whilst most of the old CCHB has been ‘cut and pasted’ to the new Code there are significant new requirements which should go some way to redressing the balance towards the new homebuyer and force errant plc housebuilders to finally smell to coffee and mend their scandalous treatment of their own customers.

Statement of Fundamental Principals
The new Code sets out a clear and unambiguous “Statement of Principals (the Fundamental Principles); fundamental and overriding obligations which Registered house builders and developers agree to follow when building and selling customers a new home.

Fairness: treat Customers fairly throughout the home buying and AfterSales process.
This is probably the most useful, as any detraction will be a fundamental breach.
Safety: carry out and complete works in accordance with all requisite Building Regulations and Requirements.
Any breach of building regulations will be a breach of Code requirement(s)
Quality: complete all works to a good quality in accordance with all applicable building and other standards and regulations as well as to the specification for the New Home and ensure that Legal Completion only takes place when a New Home is complete.
A “complete new home” being defined as one which has a warranty cover note issued and where the new home complies with building regulations. But the home can have solely decorative/corrective works outstanding and temporary services connected, which could be via a generator for example! So plenty of builder wiggle room there!
Service: have in place systems, processes and training of staff to meet the Customer service Requirements of the New Homes Quality Code and not use high-pressure selling techniques to influence a Customer’s decision to buy a New Home.
Just how will this be proved by the homebuyer, measured and enforced?
Responsiveness: be clear, responsive and timely in responding to Customer issues by having in place a robust AfterSales Service and effective Complaints process as required by the Code.
No definition of what will be deemed “robust” or “effective2 but failure to meet required Code timescales should be considered a breach.
Transparency: provide clear and accurate information about the purchase of the New Home, including tenure and potential future committed costs such as those relating to Leasehold or Management Services.
Saying isn’t doing. This is already enshrined in UK Law and the industry’s historic failure (leasehold and fleecehold scandals) demonstrates that ‘requiring’ without proper enforcement and sanctions for those found to be breaching Code requirements is unlikely to ensure compliance.
Independence: make sure that Customers are aware that they should appoint independent legal advisers when buying a New Home and that they have the right, as set out in the Code, to an independent Pre-Completion Inspection before Legal Completion takes place.
The biggest step forward. But as examined below, the pre inspection right has strings attached to limit thorough and effective inspections.
Inclusivity: take steps to identify and provide appropriate support to Vulnerable Customers as well as to make the Code available to all Customers, including in appropriately accessible formats and languages.
Biggest benefit will be for those considering buying a retirement flat/property, which has a long history of excessive fees, event fees and covenants.
Security: ensure that there are reasonable financial arrangements in place, through insurance or otherwise, to meet all obligations under the Code, including timely repayment of financial deposits when due and any financial awards made by a New Homes Ombudsman Service.
Compliance: be subject to, co-operate and comply with the Requirements of the New Homes Quality Board and a New Homes Ombudsman Service.

Pre Completion inspection Requirement 2.8 & 2.11 (C)

The stand out requirement is the right for new homebuyers – or their “suitably qualified inspector” – to a pre-legal completion inspection. The pre-completion inspection must be carried out from five calendar days after the notice to complete has been served and before legal completion. But this has plc house builder’s paw prints all over it. For example th inspection can only be carried out using the NHQB “Template Pre-Legal Completion Checklist” -yet to be made public! For more comment on this key Code requirement and its current shortcomings click Pre-Legal Completion Inspection.

Legal and other professional advisors

For the first time, it is a requirement (1.7) that the house builder disclose any fees or commission they receive at the time of reservation, referral, or purchase for introducing any professional advisor such as solicitor or mortgage brokers.

As previously with the CCHB (Req 2.5) the house builder is forbidden to restrict the homebuyer’s choice of legal representative to any solicitor or any one from a list recommended by the builder. In addition, the house builder can no longer limit any incentive or inducement when recommending any such services, which was previously permitted by the old CCHB (Requirement 2.5). Even despite the old CCHB requirement 2.5, restricting homebuyer’s choice of solicitor to one the builder required was a common practice. Perhaps now the new crystal clear Code requirements and the law will be properly enforced.

Provide all relevant information.

More precisely, this should be all information. However, added to the expanded list over and above the old CCHB is a requirement to including tenure, management charges, estate charges and event fees etc. Information should also include details of services facilities which transfer to the buyer at a later date such as utilities, restrictions on provision of services and service providers; drainage, non-adopted roads and public open spaces. (Fleecehold) Details of the new home should now include any “significant” gradients to the garden and grounds of the new home. Clearly previous complaints under the CCHB have been considered.

Other requirements

New requirements for part-exchange, assisted moving schemes and early-bird arrangements.

Another new requirement (2.3) is a 14-day cooling off period, during which the new homebuyer can cancel their reservation for any reason and receive a full refund of any fees.

For the first time a house builder Code with requirements for fixing defects and snags

It is a requirement that house builders must ensure that snags and defects reported to them are dealt with promptly, within a maximum of 30 calendar days, other than where there is an exceptional reason for delay. The new Code of Practice (3.4) sets out time-scales for each of the required written house builder responses, following receipt of a new homebuyer’s complaint. If any of the issues in the complaint are not resolved within the timetables or procedures (56 days after the initial complaint) then new homebuyer can refer a dispute to the New Homes Ombudsman Service.

As with everything plc house builders create, it could well be 2023 before any of this actually comes into being. House builders and developers are able to register with the NHQB from 31 January 2022 to the end of 2022.

The cynic in me believes that it is likely that most plc housebuilders will leave “registering” until after their year-end or half-year figures (30 June) meaning buyers will not be able to use the New Homes Ombudsman Service or have the right inspect their homes before legal completion. Indeed, many house builders may even delay registering until late December 2022.

Anyone buying a new home this year, should ask if the house builder is registered with NHQB as they will not be able to access the New Homes Ombudsman Service if the builder is not registered at the time they reserve (or legally complete) on their home “whichever is the later”.

The New Homes Ombudsman Service is due to be in operation in “early 2022” details of the scheme are yet to be made public. After my 8-year long campaign I am watching and waiting!

UPDATE: On 8th March 2022, the NHQB has confirmed to me:

“In terms of builder registration, we have started with a soft launch by invitation only, in order to test that our systems and processes are working as expected. So far we have invited 14 builders and had responses from 10. Of those, 8 have completed the application process and are now in the transition period, completing their training and other readiness preparations before going live.

We expect to send the next tranche of invitations out in the next couple of weeks, and envisage the system being fully opened for all applications during May.”

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Posted in New Homes, Snagging and Quality

Response to Consultation Government Delay with New Homes Ombudsman

Posted on 20/08/2019 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

Response to consultation and government delay in creating the Statutory New Homes Ombudsman

Another consultation? On 1^st October 2018, now ten months ago, the then Housing Secretary James Brokenshire announced the government would create a statutory new homes ombudsman which in his words:

“will champion homebuyers, protect their interests and hold developers to account. And give confidence that when you get the keys to a new home you get the quality build you expect and the finish you’ve paid for.”

It is hugely disappointing that this has yet to take place, meaning tens of thousands of new homebuyers have no available recourse to seek unequivocal, 100% independent redress and meaningful compensation awards for the often nightmare new homes they now own and the indifferent service received from errant housebuilders and inadequate warranty policies.

As the one person that suggested the statutory new homes ombudsman at the APPG EBE Inquiry on 23^rd November 2015, I had no idea at that time, it would take this government over 4 years to implement. Many thousands of new homebuyers are aware of the government’s failure to listen to their concerns, hear their pleas and start a long process of change, beginning with the creation of a statutory new homes ombudsman. The government should be aware that the lack of urgency and constant prevarication will lose votes, from homebuyers, their families and friends, whatever their political persuasion.

It is my hope that following this somewhat unnecessary Consultation (closing on 22 August 2019), the statutory new homes ombudsman will become fully operational and not be further delayed by Brexit fallout, political grandstanding and become yet another one of those classic wishy-washy government promises that take a decade to materialise if at all.

When 99% of new homebuyers report defects to their housebuilder, 43% reporting more than 10 defects* within the first few weeks of moving in and many new homes not even built in full compliance with existing building regulations, clearly government must act.

It has come to my attention that the MHCLG has been giving advice to the Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB). The cynic in me is concerned that the CCHB could be being tasked by government, to come up with a watered-down set of rules and requirements agreeable to plc housebuilders and warranty providers, with a view to setting up an industry-led “Ombudsman” perhaps a temporary ‘beta’ version of the new homes ombudsman, ahead of legislation “at the earliest opportunity” “when parliamentary time allows” which will be operated on a voluntary membership basis. Could this even be the “Shadow form” the MHCLG has outlined?

The time for debates, announcements and consultations with stakeholders has passed. It is now time to deliver on the promise made on 1^st October 2018 and create a statutory new homes ombudsman.

Too many new homebuyers are suffering, many are physically drained as a result of engagement with indifferent housebuilders when trying to get their new homes brought up to warranty standards and statutory regulations. For some buyers, the mental anguish has become almost unbearable, with some contacting me for help even mentioning thoughts of suicide, such is their hopelessness! Like Yvette Davis and her contaminated uninhabitable Linden new home in Sarisbury Green

New Home Expert’s Consultation responses:

Having completed the online version and answer all the specific questions I also sent in expanded comments some aspects.

Q4 Who should be covered by the new homes ombudsman
To avoid housebuilders wriggling out of compliance with the statutory new homes ombudsman and depriving new homebuyers of effective redress, it should also encompass anyone who is involved in the selling of new homes or what are effectively new homes as ‘second-hand’.

Q5 Should a New Homes Ombudsman only cover complaints where redress cannot be sought elsewhere?
NO! Clearly the New Homes Ombudsman should cover ALL complaints from new homebuyers regardless of the nature or existence of alternative Ombudsman or redress. The “limited in its scope” Consumer Code for Homebuilders has clearly failed new home buyers over its ten-year existence.
It should also include warranty providers as the Financial Ombudsman Services NHBC complaint decision in Appendix A demonstrates, this despite 71% of complaints against the NHBC being upheld in new homebuyers favour * originally shown here now deleted because, according to Which, The NHBC is a “warranty supplier and not a home insurer” and the data was therefore “not correct.”

Q6 Anyone else able to seek redress through the New Homes Ombudsman?
YES! Anyone who buys a new home from the original buyer within the 10-year warranty period.

Q7 Should anything be excluded from the new homes ombudsman remit?
NO! It should include anything and everything including complaints about new home warranty providers.

FREE – FAIR – FOR EVERYTHING

Q8 Awareness of requirement to belong to the New Homes Ombudsman
The requirement should be a condition of planning and building regulation approval. Building control inspectors and warranty providers should be legally required to seek proof of membership before carrying out inspections.

Q9 Should there only be a single New Homes Ombudsman
YES! It should be single Statutory New Homes Ombudsman administered by a PUBLIC BODY in a way not dissimilar to the Financial Ombudsman Services.

There should not be any form of “voluntary” New Homes Ombudsman, “shadow form” New Homes Ombudsman or any “Ombudsman” scheme or services, created by any of the housebuilding industry’s stakeholders.

Q10b Additional circumstances a purchaser can access the New Homes Ombudsman

When a sale did not go through and housebuilder is withholding money, such as reservation fees and other payments such as for optional extras.

It should also cover breaches of written agreements regarding carrying out remedial works to defects.

When a purchaser of a new home is given a non-disclosure agreement to sign as a condition of carrying out remedial works to defects.

Q12 Should the New Homes Ombudsman be delivered by a public sector body?
YES! Anything less, would be a sell-out to the housebuilding industry and a betrayal of trust to every new-build buyer. On no account whatsoever, should any private sector organisation, either existing or newly created, be allowed to deliver the New Homes Ombudsman. Already the industry’s own Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB) is attempting to manoeuvre and reinvent itself as an ‘Ombudsman’ with advice from the MHCLG! The New Homes Ombudsman must be unquestionably, 100% independent of the house building industry and its stakeholders (various Codes and warranty providers) and be clearly seen to be. The only way to ensure and guarantee independence is a New Homes Ombudsman service delivered by the PUBLIC SECTOR.

The MHCLG should take note of the abject failure of deregulation of Building Control function with the use of “approved inspectors” with the now many documented, poor quality standards and examples of non-compliance in “completed” “inspected” and “signed off” new homes.

Q16 Should access to the New Homes Ombudsman be free for purchasers of new build homes?
YES! Any charge to access redress will deter consumers making complaints and questioning their validity. It has been previously announced by government that the New Homes Ombudsman would be free and on Page 41 of the 24 January 2019 response to the last Housing Redress Consultation it stated it would be free. Even on page 17 (3.19) of this consultation it states “we want to see better redress faster so that consumers can benefit from FREE, FAIR and EFFECTIVE redress as soon as possible”

Until this year, the CCHB charged new homebuyers seeking redress £120 (including vat!) as a registration fee. Just 357 complaints were received in 8 years with many no doubt being put off by the fee and the bias of adjudication.

It would be idiotic to have the opinion that a free service would be subject to misuse giving rise to vexatious complaints, as any new homebuyers that angry and frustrated, would in all probability have genuine, justified grounds for making a complaint.

Q17 Funding the New Homes Ombudsman
A simple levy for each and every house built. I am suggesting £100 per home built giving around £20 million on 200,000 homes a year completed. In addition, for each complaint the housebuilder concerned should also pay £750 towards the cost of investigating the complaint and also any additional amounts to cover the cost any independent external specialist’s inspections, assessments and testing.

Q20 Sanctions for New Homes Ombudsman
All of the above. In addition, when considering sanctions, expulsion or suspension, this should apply to all companies and regional companies within a plc housebuilder’s group. It should also apply to the directors of those companies. This is to prevent any plc corporation simply using another company within its Group, acquiring another housebuilder or setting up a new company to carry on trading and avoid the Ombudsman sanctions.

Q21 Powers of the New Homes Ombudsman
It is essential that the New Homes Ombudsman has the power to force housebuilders to buy back (‘reverse the purchase’) defective new homes at full market value. This should be offered to the buyers of any new home where defects are serious or extensive enough to require the new home owners to move into temporary accommodation for more than 28 days.

In addition, the New Homes Ombudsman should have the powers to stop work on any development where serious defects are reported, such as weak mix mortar, missing fire barriers and structural issues. In all such serious instances, the New Homes Ombudsman should INFORM all other home owners on any particular development, that their home may have a serious defect(s). This will nullify the use of non-disclosure agreements by both plc housebuilders and warranty providers to cover up their shortcomings and limit their financial liabilities.

The purpose of a New Homes Ombudsman is to make meaningful, justifiable levels of compensation awards to new homeowners, taking into full account the impact on their family life. It should not just exist to enforce the rectification of defects and ensure any financial loss is reimbursed. This should ensure that housebuilders are suitably encouraged to improve quality and service. Each case should be judged fairly on its merits, in most cases compensation awards of less than £2,000 will be insufficient, as it will be cheaper for plc housebuilders to write-off the Ombudsman’s award for the few buyers that take their complaint to the New Homes Ombudsman against the cost of improving quality for every new home built.

Q22 Maximum award by New Homes Ombudsman
This should be up to £200,000, in line with the Financial Ombudsman Service upper limit. A home is the most expensive purchase anyone makes in their lifetime; indeed, it can take a lifetime to pay off the loan. The upper limit must therefore properly reflect the investment, thus the likely cost of a total demolish and rebuild, to properly cover those new homebuyers who do not wish to take advantage of the buy-back option.

By implying that taking legal action is an option for larger claims would dismiss its impossibility for most new homebuyers. For even those with legal expenses insurance, this is a lengthy and costly process with no guarantee of a successful and just outcome. Indeed, housebuilders have deep pockets and vigorously defend every attempt by the very few new homebuyers who take this course of action, in the full and certain knowledge that it will cost less to defend the small number of claims that could potentially end up in court, than routinely pay justifiable compensation to homebuyers. Even if an agreement is reached ahead of a court hearing, this is normally subject to a non-disclosure agreement clause, (“gagging order”) to avoid any precedent being established and to reduce likelihood of action being taken by others, often with identical issues.

Taking legal action against a plc housebuilder is a serious barrier to access to justice, in terms of cost, risk and time. As I said on national television, “Buyers who go to court will run out of money long before the housebuilders ever will.” Most having just bought a new home at a premium price, perhaps using help to buy, cannot simply afford long and protracted legal battles with plc housebuilders and their bullying ‘Rottweiler’ litigation mitigation solicitors.

Q23 What information should be published to empower consumers?
There should be a builder league table, revised bi-annually naming house builders and the number of complaints made against them to the New Homes Ombudsman. It should detail the number of complaints upheld, amount of awards and compensation, with statistics divided into categories such as pre purchase, defects and poor quality, non-conformance with building regulations and unfair terms and charges.

In time, this incorruptible government data, should replace the industry’s own, in-house and highly criticised ‘8-week HBF survey’ designed with the sole intention of “providing data to rebut negativity” and completed by purchasers at a time when the full extent of defects and their housebuilder’s indifference are unknown. Indeed the NHBC have said that the responses to its 9-month survey, which is never made public, show the satisfaction levels are normally 5-10% lower than those in the 8-week survey.

Q26 Should a New Homes Ombudsman remit be UK-wide
Whilst there is a case for this, given most plc housebuilders have operations in the devolved nations and clearly have the same need, it will inevitably result in further legislative delay. For this reason the Statutory New Homes Ombudsman should apply only to England with devolved nations free to copy or amend their own legislation if they choose to do so.

The nations were devolved for a reason and have autonomy to change and revise their own building regulations, so why, if they feel a statutory New Homes Ombudsman is required, would they not be able to act and create their own? A requirement for a UK-wide New Homes Ombudsman would only serve to delay implementation.

Q28 What should be included in a Code of Practice for developers?
Obviously everything listed in the consultation should be included, but any industry collaborated/created Code of Practice will invariably be used to limit or restrict the redress available to new homebuyers and the effectiveness and powers of the New Homes Ombudsman (as is the case with the industry’s own CCHB). This must not be allowed.

The New Homes Ombudsman must not be confined to decisions from any Code requirement not met. Each and every complaint should be judged in its own individual merits. Whilst the FOS does make reference to the ‘Banking Code’ and the ABI ‘Statement of general Insurance Practice’ it does not appear bound to them implicitly. Neither should the Statutory New Homes Ombudsman be restricted in what it can and cannot rule on.

FREE – FAIR – FOR EVERYTHING

It must be said, that the universal practice of housebuilders encouraging, incentivising and in some cases insisting, new homebuyers to use a particular solicitor of the housebuilder’s choice must be banned. Clearly this practice leaves buyers at a distinct disadvantage as there is a clear conflict of interest. This being demonstrated by the harm thousands have suffered as a result of being led into leasehold ownership of houses, without fully understanding the implications and disadvantages of doing so. Housebuilders recommending/suggesting solicitors (because “it will be quicker/easier as they know the development and have already done the searches”) should and must be banned. Until it is, this should be included under the New Homes Ombudsman remit.

3 Conclusion
The housebuilders and warranty providers operational policy is to bat away buyers’ complaints and warranty claims rather than work in the consumer’s best interests. Despite many years of opportunity, nothing has changed. It is now time, as the previous Consultation recognised, a Statutory New Homes Ombudsman is required to award justifiable and meaningful levels of compensation. It needs creating now, as a government priority, without further and unnecessary delay.

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Tagged APPG Inquiry Into Quality of New Homes, Consumer Code for Home Builders, house builders, new homes ombudsman, quality, standards

The Chameleon Consumer Code for Home Builders now plan their own “Ombudsman”

Posted on 16/07/2019 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

New Homes Ombudsman – Who is running the show?

The zombie Consumer Code for Home Builders just doesn’t realise it’s dead yet.
Just what is going on? Who is running the show? Is the housebuilding industry’s tail wagging the government dog?

I have my suspicions that the housebuilding industry is using its party political donations as means of leverage to interfere and delay the creation of the statutory new homes ombudsman and other government policies that could adversely affect their highly profitable business model.

The latest from the Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB) “Spring 2019 Status Report” , (note the CCHB haven’t managed to produce an Annual Report since 2017!) appears to indicate that a government department is advising the housebuilding industry:
“ following advice from [James Brokenshire’s] MHCLG”, they are “working on a number of initiatives“!

The Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB) said on Twitter (8 July 2019):
“We’ve been working on a number of initiatives to strengthen the Code following advice from MHCLG and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Housing. [sic]”

But why only now? The APPG EBE Inquiry Report was first published as long ago as July 2016! Let me guess; it’s because the creation of a statutory new homes ombudsman will mean the end of this industry-led, zombie Code which was found by the APPG EBE Inquiry to be “limited in its scope – does not appear to give homebuyers the safeguards we think they should expect and – it does not appear to us objectively to offer consumers a wholly satisfactory form of redress” This is a Code that has been failing new homebuyers for 10 years, even charging them a fee of £120 (until last month when it was scrapped) to seek redress!

So why is James Brokenshire and his department bending over backwards to give this corrupt, scandal-ridden industry every opportunity to shape and limit the effectiveness of a new homes ombudsman? An ombudsman that was supposed to be “championing homebuyer’s interests” and “holding developers to account”? But it appears the zombie CCHB has every intention to hold the Ombudsman to account, no doubt to limit financial awards and judgements in favour of new homebuyers and protect the interests of the industry it exists to serve and safeguard.

“The referral of complaints to a new homes Ombudsman: The new Board will commission an Ombudsman by open competition. This will replace the current Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme. Commissioning the Ombudsman in this way will allow the Board to seek best value, ensure operational standards are maintained and give conﬁdence to consumers that the Ombudsman will be held to account”

Is this what James Brokenshire and his MHCLG mean by a “shadow form” “voluntary” new homes ombudsman? Is this the reason for the shameful suggestion in the Consultation for the New Homes Ombudsman could be delivered by a private sector body? Is government short-changing new homebuyer redress?

This latest missive by a dying Code is full of potential mechanisms for delay, if government allows it. It contains the words “consultation with stakeholders” four times. Thus far, nine months on from Brokenshire’s historic announcement, nothing has been done. In the meantime the CCHB has been publishing nonsense like this as it struggles for its very existence. As The APPG EBE Inquiry report in July 2016 concluded:
A “completely independent [new homes ombudsman] would replace the dispute resolution service offered as part of the Consumer Code for Home Builders.”
So far, nothing at all has changed since July 2016. Only the government MHCLG is keeping this failing and ineffective form redress alive on life support. It’s time the power was cut and it was put out of new homebuyers’ misery. How much longer will it remain on death row, appealing for clemency?

Recommendation 1: DCLG should initiate steps to set up a New Homes Ombudsman
“The role would include mediating disputes between consumers and their builders or warranty providers to offer a quick resolution procedure paid for by a housebuilders’ levy. We see this is as the key recommendation to provide more effective consumer redress, if things go wrong, and a good way of applying pressure on housebuilders and warranty providers to deliver a better quality service. Our view is that the new service should be funded by a levy on the sector, but it would need to be completely independent and replace the dispute resolution service offered as part of the Consumer Code for Home Builders. Our recommendation picks up on one made by the Office of Fair Trading, in its 2008 market study into the house building industry, which suggested that, if the industry failed to make satisfactory progress, it would recommend further intervention in the form of a statutory redress mechanism for new homebuyers funded by a levy on the industry.

The CCHB response to the Scotland New build buyer protection bill

The Consumer Code for Home Builders is keen to “improve customer protection” UK-wide rather than in isolation. They say they are “working toward” “looking at ways to improve” their Code but have done little in the ten years of its existence to offer better redress for new homebuyers. Indeed revisions to the Code have made it more difficult for buyers to seek justice. It then tries to promote itself over eleven pages which include its opinionated dismissal of the statutory new homes ombudsman.

The Code is apparently “currently working on its response” to the current MHCLG Consultation on the new homes ombudsman. I think we can conclude what will be in it!

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Tagged APPG Inquiry Into Quality of New Homes, consultation, Consumer Code for Home Builders, new homes ombudsman

Is the Government Consultation to delay a Statutory New Homes Ombudsman?

Posted on 06/07/2019 by New Home Expert | 3 Comments

New Homes Ombudsman Consultation

Not another consultation! As the person that first suggested a statutory new homes ombudsman be set up as long ago as 15 November 2015 at the APPG EBE Inquiry, I was delighted, after my many years of campaigning, that at the Conservative party conference on 1^st October 2018 some nine months ago, Housing Secretary James Brokenshire announced the government would create a statutory new homes ombudsman which in his words:
“will champion homebuyers, protect their interests and hold developers to account. And give confidence that when you get the keys to a new home you get the quality build you expect and the finish you’ve paid for. “

So what has happened since then?
It took the government 284 days after the “Strengthening Redress in the Housing Market” consultation closed (16 April 2018) before finally publishing the results and its response on 24 January 2019. The 1,209 (355 new homeowners) that responded showed a clear, unequivocal and virtually universal desire that new homebuyers should have access to an ombudsman (91%), with 84% replying it should be statutory.

A year on, we are still awaiting the House Building Federation (HBF) publication of its formal report on the APPG’s New Homes Ombudsman Inquiry findings published on 26 June 2018. The HBF have also set up a working group to “…simplify the legal process and create a clearer and simpler process for signing off new homes as complete”. They have also commissioned an independent report on consumer redress for new home buyers. But just when are the HBF publishing these? And government isn’t exactly showing any sense of urgency either!

Last week on 27 June 2019, the government published yet another Consultation “Redress for Purchasers of New Build Homes and the New Homes Ombudsman.” Seeking “views on the detail of the proposed legislation and how a New Homes Ombudsman can be delivered and will run until August 22.”
New homebuyers can respond to the consultation here

But it appears house builders have until 2021 to get their act together and belong to the new homes ombudsman or they will be excluded from Help To Buy. This was previously “announced” so not new and not exactly showing any degree of urgency. “The purpose of the consultation is to gather evidence and seek views on improving redress for purchasers of new build homes. Any policy changes brought forward as a result of the consultation would be subject to appropriate assessment.” Just how long would that take?

No doubt this will end up in can-kicking the eventual legislation, not just further down the road, but into the long grass beyond the next general election. If it takes another 284 days for government to respond to its latest consultation, publication may be as far away as June 2020! So much for “access to redress is a priority for this government”

At least the members of the Committee for Public Accounts in their report “Planning and the Broken Housing Market” have put a time limit on when the government should say what it is going to do regarding poor quality news homes and compensation for new homebuyers!

“By October 2019, the Department should set out how it will work with local authorities, developers, and other agencies on how they will prevent, penalise and compensate for poor residential build quality.”

But the MHCLG statement in this paper says it all! “21. In terms of new builds, the Department acknowledged that it did not have a specific programme to address concerns about the quality of new builds……”

We find the same old rhetoric from the “ministry of cut & paste” [MHCLG]: “we will” – “we Intend” – “when parliamentary time allows” But when will these work-shy wasters actually get on with setting up the badly-needed statutory new homes ombudsman?

In stark contrast, there is considerable momentum in Scotland where MSP Graham Simpson has submitted a private members Bill “Proposed New-Build Homes (Buyer Protection) (Scotland) Bill” Not one Westminster MP has bothered to do this despite many receiving hundreds of letters from their constituents about their defective new homes and indifferent housebuilders.

Perhaps this is the reason that the consultation asks in Q26 whether the new homes ombudsman’s remit should be UK-wide. Whilst this is desirable given that most the large plc house builders also operate and commit the same scandals in Wales and Scotland, “engaging and consulting with devolved administrations to seek agreement on UK-wide legislation” will inevitably lead to even further delay and ministerial procrastination.

Does this Government fully appreciate the urgent need for a new homes ombudsman?

Government has been to an extent, hoodwinked by the industry and its spin-doctoring Home Builders Federation (HBF), into making statements such as:

“The Government knows that on occasion things may go wrong.” On occasion? Around 99% of new homebuyers report defects to their housebuilder within a few weeks of moving in; 42% reporting more than 10 defects. Most experience difficulty in getting their plc housebuilder to come back and deal with these!

“The Government believes that the majority of developers act responsibly when building new homes.”
“The majority of new home purchasers are satisfied with their new homes.” Believes? From the propaganda of the HBF and its highly suspect customer satisfaction survey, which exists purely “to provide data to rebut negativity” which is sent to new homebuyers just 8-weeks after they move.
Wake up at the back and smell the coffee!
The consultation states: “In March 2004, Dame Kate Barker DBE’s review of Housing Supply made a number of recommendations for the house-building industry to improve service quality and customer satisfaction ratings”
But nothing changed!

“In 2008, the OFT’s review into ‘Home Building in the UK’ identified problems for consumers when buying a new home, such as delays in moving in, faults in new homes and potentially unfair terms in contracts. If the industry failed to deliver a solution to these issues…….the review recommended that a statutory redress mechanism should be implemented with the ability to award homebuyers compensation”

Since then, 11 years later, the house building industry and our government has failed to deliver a solution!

Voluntary Code of Practice for new homes

No! “Voluntary” doesn’t work in the housebuilding industry. The failed “limited in its scope” Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB) being a prime example. CCHB Graphic

Legislation and regulation is what is required yet this government intends to “..work with industry and consumer groups to establish a voluntary code of practice for new homes ahead of legislation” Thus far I have not been contacted to take part, despite the thousands of new home buyers that have over the last 10 years, contacted me for help and advice. Q28 suggests what the Code of Practice might contain, but any finite Code of Practice means the powers of the new homes ombudsman, will be restricted and limited. Apparently “Good progress has been made towards a unified code of practice” says government.

Warranty schemes excluded from the new homes ombudsman

The Financial Ombudsman Service upholds an average of one in three complaints in favour of the consumer. The NHBC has the highest percentage of complaints found in the customer’s favour at 71%. This shows that clearly the NHBC are not dealing with warranty claims and customer complaints fairly and as it claims “Protecting Homeowners” . However, many disputes with the warranty companies are of a highly technical nature and would be better addressed by the new homes ombudsman.

It is also planned that the scope of new homes ombudsman will be limited to the “first two years, when the majority of problems occur.” But this means latent defects, often of a very serious structural nature such as weak mortar, would be excluded.

Different consultation – same questions!

Struggling to fill 51 pages with needless questions, this latest consultation is asking some of exactly the same questions as the previous redress consultation (question in brackets).

Q10a Time frame – How long before buyers can use NHO (Q14)]
Q20 Sanctions (Q16)
Q22 Amount of award (Q16)
Q23 Complaints awards data published (Q13)

Do we want the new homes ombudsman delivered by the private sector?

The consultation has added a sneaky move where the government is trying to devolve who administers the new homes ombudsman to the private sector. Respondents have an opportunity to indicate it should delivered by a public sector body in Q12. Especially given the abject failure of building regulation compliance since private sector companies were able to carry out the building control function as approved inspectors. It is also not inconceivable that the house building industry could create a company, specifically to tender for the role of new homes ombudsman.

Q16 Should access to a new homes ombudsman be free for new homebuyers? Strange as it is stated earlier in the consultation notes (page 17) that the government expressed its desire and intention “that consumers can benefit from free and fair and effective redress as soon as possible”

Q17 How should new homes ombudsman funded – By far the most fair and effective way to fund the new homes ombudsman is by a levy for each new home each housebuilder sells. This can (and perhaps should) be collected at the planning stage. Alternatively, it could be collected on legal completion. I have suggested £100 per home completed meaning the larger plc housebuilder pay more than SME housebuilders building 20 homes a year. In addition each housebuilder should be required to pay £500 towards the cost of investigating each complaint made, this should encourage housebuilders to settle small disputes with their customers.

Q21 New homes ombudsman – additional powers
Yes! in the most serious complaints the new homes ombudsman should be able to require the housebuilder to re purchase the home at a fair (non-defective) market rate, adding an extra award to compensate and cover the costs of moving home, stamp duty, carpets, legal fees removals etc.

“Shadow form” new homes ombudsman!

On 11 April 2019, I was asked by Victoria Derbyshire what is the latest on the New Homes Ombudsman? All I could say at the time was that James Brokenshire had announced it would possibly be in shadow form until parliamentary time allows for legislation for the statutory new homes ombudsman. At that time as now, are no further details of what shadow form means or when it would be operational. On 27 June 2019 Brokenshire said: “we are also exploring the options to appoint a New Homes Ombudsman in shadow form – someone to work closely with industry, consumer groups and government to ensure improvements and standards are delivered quickly and help shape the future scheme”

It would seem the ‘shadow form’ could even be an industry-led, voluntary new homes ombudsman, shackled to a new Code of Practice drawn up by the industry itself and limiting its scope and overall effectiveness!

As James Brokenshire said in his “ministerial foreward” “There can be no excuses for half measures when it comes to quality, safety or standards” It is a pity he does not appear to do as he says. Since his announcement, we have had half measures from him and his MHCLG such as the ‘shadow form’ new homes ombudsman! “We are committed to taking bold action to reform the sector and will be pressing ahead as soon as parliamentary time allows” You cannot claim to be “committed” but only when “parliamentary times allows” a phrase used as an excuse for delay over the last 9 months. In the meantime new home buyers like Yvette Davis are being driven to the brink of suicide from the stress and despair they are suffering at the hands of this indifferent, failing industry. New homebuyers deserve better than a plastic ‘shadow form’ new homes ombudsman in name only.

At the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) conference on 27 June 2019 in Manchester, Brokenshire said: “I’m mindful these aren’t quick wins. These are decisions taken today to help tomorrow.” He also acknowledged the government was currently undergoing change, even foreseeing his own demise as housing secretary: “There may even be a new housing secretary. But our approach to housing won’t change. We’ll continue to approach all of this in a serious way.”

In May 2019, Brokenshire told The Sunday Times that he is frustrated by the slow pace of change. “There is a real pressure on legislative slots going through parliament right now — something that prolongs the two years it usually takes for new laws to take effect. “You sort of think, Oh, for goodness sake!”

Yes you do, but an MP’s private members bill to outlaw upskirting on 6 March 2018 gained Royal Assent and became law on 12 April 2019, shows can be done!

It’s time James Brokenshire stepped up, or stepped down, so someone more capable could start doing, rather than announcing, re announcing, dilly-dally-delaying and making silly videos showing his ‘support’ for minority groups. Unfortunately, “Mr Brokenpromises” time and that of his government’s is fast running out. As Boris says “Get it Done”

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Tagged APPG Inquiry Into Quality of New Homes, consultation, Consumer Code for Home Builders, house builders, new homes ombudsman, quality

HBF Satisfaction Survey shows number of buyers reporting defects as high as ever

Posted on 31/03/2019 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

HBF New Home Customer Satisfaction Survey Results 2019

So the latest 2019 new home customer satisfaction survey results have finally been published by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) – six months after the survey year ended on 30 September 2018. All HBF housebuilder members having known their current star rating and individual survey scores as they come in throughout the year via the NHBC portal. Taylor Wimpey and Bovis even crowed about their “achievement” in their annual reports last month. Persimmon has (again) pledged to improve its five year run of 3 star ratings, by announcing its 1.5% homebuyer retention last week.

But do the general public take note of the housebuilder star ratings?

Apparently not. On the face of it 16,449 still bought a Persimmon new home in 2018 despite its continuously poor star rating, with just 8,234 of these returning the survey! Amazingly, 7,404 buyers bought their new home from Bovis despite the builder being rated an industry low of just 2 stars in both 2016 and 2017.

So why is this survey so important for the industry?

For a start it is the ONLY survey of new home buyers “satisfaction”. Even if this is an in-house survey, controlled by the industry with carefully crafted questions and sent to new homebuyers just 8-weeks after moving in, it is all there is. The HBF and its PR machine goes into overdrive, making crass overstatements with headlines such as “Homeowner satisfaction with new build homes increasing”
“more people happy with their new homes than ever” “new homes are built to a higher standard than ever before” when the reality is, this is a small increase over two years, from an all time low in 2017 (84%) and way below the all time peak of 91% in 2013 – results from the year before Help to Buy was launched!

“The improvement in satisfaction levels have been achieved as output has continued to increase.”
That is according to the HBF, who were apparently oblivious to the weak mortar issue in Britain’s crumbling new homes! The HBF have stated that the primary purpose of this 8-week satisfaction survey is to “provide data to rebut negativity” What other industry at the outset, designs a survey so it can rebut negativity? Surely the sole purpose of any customer survey should be to indicate unknown areas of weakness so these can be demonstrably positively addressed. Not the HBF survey, where the HBF crows: “two thirds of those polled said the number of defects was in line with their expectations” Actually it was 43%, with another 34% indicating more “problems” than they expected. Again, in what other industry do consumers buy a product in the full and certain knowledge and expectation that it will be faulty?

The latest government figures show “output”, despite the twice extended, government subsidy for the industry, Help to Buy and the HBF’s spun “78% increase in housing supply in the last 5 years”, is still below the peak of March 2007 12 years ago! Actual government figures for the last survey year to 30 September 2018 (2017/18) show private sale completions at 126,970 (116,350) with a total homes completed of 155,250 (142,870) (previous year in brackets)

One survey response the HBF never care to highlight, one that cannot be easily influenced, is the indisputable fact that virtually all new homes have defects, with 99% of buyers surveyed reporting defects to their builder within a few weeks of moving in, and an increase this year to 42% reporting more than 10 defects! The HBF spins it “new homes are complex bespoke products and the number of problems (snags, usually minor such as paint drips, cupboard doors out of line etc) was in line with buyer’s [low] expectations” and “58% having less than 11 issues with their new home” Cigars all round, break out the champagne!

Well not quite. The Government has announced it is proposing to get tough on housebuilders that fail to deliver good quality and service. But whether James Brokenshire who spoke at the HBF Annual Conference and would do well to distance himself from this broken industry, is daft enough to use the industry’s star rating as his yardstick remains to be seen! Government need to take a much tougher stance against the industry wolves dressed in Granny’s nighties (covering up everything) and avoid being taken in like Little Red Riding Hood, by their meaningless pledges, promises and plastic PR spin.

New cars are also “complex bespoke products”, some models have around 1,000 different customer options yet they are routinely, delivered to the customer defect-free having been inspected many times, both during and after manufacture. Those collecting the keys of a new car would be horrified to discover “misaligned doors and paint drips” defects which the HBF attempts to state as “usually minor” but nevertheless, are not inspected, checked or eliminated, being left for the customer to discover by the profit-driven industry the HBF serves and promotes.

So its congratulations to Russell Armer Homes awarded a 5-star rating, this from only 20 of their customer’s survey responses! No doubt contributing to: “This year’s further improvement is a clear demonstration that the intense focus within the industry on build quality..” so spins the HBF. It is interesting to note the percentage “sample size” of buyers returning the survey/answering Q1 for the main plc housebuilder has fallen dramatically this year to an average of around 44% of total homes built. The stated ‘sample size’ for each housebuilder totals 48,001, this despite 60,955 surveys being returned. Perhaps many of those dissatisfied buyers, badgered and threatened by housebuidler’s to complete the survey form favourably, believed they would hurt the housebuilder more by not doing so, rather than completing to survey to reflect their discontent.
Some new homebuyers do not even get the survey. SM said on the Unhappy New Homebuyers Facebook Group
“I never got a questionnaire for a survey. Wonder how they were selected. I did have great fun completing my 2nd NHBC survey about Persimmon though!” “Intense focus on build quality” HBF?
For those that do get notification codes from the NHBC, the survey can be completed online here But many new homeowners find out after they move in that broadband is painfully slow or in some cases, non-existent.

In 2016 I asked the HBF why the total number of surveys “sampled” for the Star Rating was less than the number of surveys returned? This year it was 78% of the total. It would seem that more and more surveys are being sampled out! Why there is a need to sample at all? Surely all the surveys responses can be counted?
The HBF responded:

“The industry scores are based on every single valid response NHBC (who operate the survey) get to what is an industry-wide survey. Valid simply means completed by an owner occupier within the 20 week response window. Not one single valid survey was ‘not used’. So all the industry scores shown in the charts on the website in the results we released are based on every single (45,342) valid response we got this year. Whilst the ‘industry survey’ covers more than HBF members, the Star Rating part of it is just for HBF members. Hence adding up the sample sizes for the Star Rated builders will not get you to the total 45,342 responses as other non-HBF members are sampled as we want to get as full a picture as possible.”

In 2011, I asked the HBF why it did not publish individual builder results for every question?
John Stewart HBF Director of Economic Affairs told me back in 2011:
“From a personal perspective, I think publishing more detailed company results would not have had any more impact on raising customer satisfaction among new home buyers. But it would most certainly have provided food for those who are prejudiced against the industry and simply seek to criticise. I see no value in this.”

No surprise there! The industry also keep the results of the NHBC 9-month survey under wraps too, no doubt for similar reasons. The NHBC told the an APPG Inquiry in 2015: “The NHBC 9-month customer satisfaction survey scores generally 5-10% LOWER than the HBF 8-week survey” This year Taylor Wimpey indicated that its overall satisfaction star rating score at nine months was 76% – 3 star territory, 2 stars and 15% below their official 5-star rating.

The survey, and in particular the all important housebuilder star rating question, can be manipulated by housebuilders. Often buyers tell me they were told their faults would not be fixed if they answered “No” to question 1 – “Would you recommend a friend?”

In the halcyon years of “customer satisfaction” 90% in 2012 and 91% in 2013 with the number of surveys returned were 23,778 and 29,330 respectively. The financial crisis was in 2008 and housebuilders reduced their production between 2009 and 2012. This was ramped up in 2013 when the taxpayer-funded Help to Buy gravy train was launched and plc housebuilders had pound signs in their eyes.

HBF chief Stewart Baseley who by his own admission is apparently “a great believer in transparency” says:

“Achieving such high levels of customer satisfaction, whilst delivering the steepest increase in the rate of house building we have seen for 40 years, is a considerable achievement.”
“The survey proves conclusively that the people who buy and live in new build homes are overwhelmingly happy with their purchase. There has been a huge focus on quality and service across the industry and this is reflected by successive annual improvements across all question areas.
“The intense focus on quality and service, allied to a huge recruitment and training campaign has enabled builders to further raise standards whilst increasing output. New build buyers already have far more protection than second hand buyers with the security of a consumer code and ten year warranty.
“The vast majority of customers are already happy with the service and quality of their home, but the industry is determined to deliver even higher levels in the years to come. The industry is committed to further increases in protection and redress and is working with a range of stakeholders on how an ombudsman can be introduced.”

Quite how the likes of Mr Baseley sleep at night after saying those statements I don’t know! His HBF even have the nerve to use the creation of the statutory new homes ombudsman, (that I campaigned 5 years for) as a marketing tool “further enhance build quality and consumer protections for new home buyers.” Build quality is at best poor and those buying a new home have no “consumer protections” at all as many thousands have discovered to their cost! This is precisely Why a statutory new homes ombudsman is being set up! The HBF must not be allowed any opportunity to weaken the new homes ombudsman powers and effectiveness.

The HBF has recently announced it is teaming up with charities to provide support and highlight mental health amongst construction workers, with 400 taking their own lives last year. A construction worker is now 10 times more likely to die through suicide than a fall from height! Many mental health issues originate from bullying and the unrealistic production demands by site managers, contracts managers and regional construction and managing directors, who in turn face similar from the main board directors in their pursuit of every increasing completion numbers and record profits for their dividend hungry shareholders. Those affected will no doubt be delighted by the Building Mental Health Framework and the £100,000 the whole housebuilding industry has donated to the charity and the 24/7 helpline! But the irony is, a great many new homebuyers suffer mental illness too, becoming drained as a result of engagement with indifferent housebuilders which for some, the mental anguish is unbearable as they try to cope with the daily frustration and dealing with plc housebuilders and their broken promises.

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Tagged builder star rating, customer care, HBF, HBF satisfacation survey, new homes ombudsman, quality

Redress? When will New Homes Ombudsman be operational?

Posted on 01/02/2019 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

James Brokenshire re announces the statutory New Homes Ombudsman but when will it be operational?

Whilst housing secretary James Brokenshire has announced an “overhaul of broken housing complaints system” it is evident to me that any redress will not be implemented fast enough. When I first suggested a New Homes Ombudsman to the APPG EBE Inquiry 2nd session I attended way back in November 2015, it was well received and became the number 1 “Key” recommendation in the inquiry report, published 13th July 2016.
Sadly since then and until James Brokenshire’s announcement on 1st October 2018, little if anything has been done. Indeed, it can be interpreted from the government response to the Housing Redress Consultation, which took this government 283 days to publish; it is highly likely that legislation supposedly being “brought forward at the earliest possible opportunity to require all new developers to belong to the Ombudsman” will not in fact be the statutory new homes ombudsman so badly needed. It would appear, at least for the time being, that “an interim voluntary service will be established requiring developers of new build homes to participate” is favoured by government.

More worryingly, the government has indicated that “developers will also have to belong to the new body by 2021 if they wish to participate in the government’s Help to Buy scheme”. This suggests the non-mandatory ‘voluntary’ new homes ombudsman will still be in place in April 2021, indicating that legislation for the statutory new homes ombudsman may not be on the statute until after the next general election, currently due on 5th May 2022! Hardly “the earliest opportunity” Mr Brokenshire! Could this be a cynical ploy to delay legally mandated, effective redress for new homebuyers, so that the industry’s political party donations keep flowing in to fight the next election?

The government has said that it is to create a ‘Redress Reform Working Group’ with redress schemes, which will work with industry and consumers on developing the new service and the other options set out. Why is government even contemplating working with those responsible for the existing failures of an industry fraught with scandals and controversy? Will government be prepared to work with me, on behalf of UK new homebuyers, to ensure that the new homes ombudsman is created as the government good intention “to champion the interests of new homebuyers and hold developers to account” or is it going to facilitate ‘big housebuilding’ to mould and manipulate any new homes ombudsman to protect the interests of all those incestuously connected with this dirty industry, to limit its effectiveness, stifle justice for new homebuyers and maintain their current balance of power?

Code of Practice

The government has set out its desire to see a “single Code of Practice on complaint handling across all tenures.” Hopefully this will stipulate how complaints are to be dealt with and the timescales required. However, the nature of defects in new homes vary and no single timescale will suit rectification of complaints about poor quality, defects and breaches to building regulations and warranty standards.
As I said in my submission to the APPG EBE Inquiry in January 2018 “New Homes Ombudsman – Call for Evidence” a single, separate, stand-alone, statutory new homes ombudsman is required. I am pleased the government has listened and will be legislating for exactly this, albeit eventually, and not one hidden and delayed by a new, ‘one-size-fits-all’ Housing Ombudsman which was, at the time, preferred by government despite it being more problematic, taking longer to create. It would appear that many of the inquiry report recommendations, published in June 2018, have been taken on by government.

The New Homes Ombudsman must not be restricted to a new single, industry Code of Practice

One recommendation in particular, poses a distinct risk to the potential effectiveness of the statutory new homes ombudsman. Government has stated its intention “in the meantime” to “work with industry, warranty providers and consumers to ensure that the distinct practices for the new build sector are addressed and that these are reflected in an agreed single consumer code of practice which would be used by a New Homes Ombudsman to adjudicate against”

There are apparently currently seven consumer codes regarding new homes! “all different but sharing a general lack of obligations placed on home builders.” The Property Ombudsman said that the Codes “are written in a way to suggest that they exist to contain complaints” which indeed they do, all being set up subsequent to the Consumer Protection Regulations 2008.

But it would appear the worst recommendation of the APPG Inquiry report, the proposal for a new “industry-wide code of practice, with government, warranty providers, housebuilders and consumer groups working together, in consultation, to draw up a code that would be used by the new homes ombudsman (NHO) to adjudicate on disputes” has been seriously considered and in particular, the industry-led, “limited in its scope” Consumer Code for Homebuilders (CCHB) appears, unsurprisingly, to be chomping at the bit to be front and centre for drafting the new Code – adding to the “confusion”.

Not only will this give the housebuilding industry an opportunity delay the creation of any new homes ombudsman (voluntary or statutory), it will also provide the industry with a golden opportunity to influence what the new homes ombudsman can and cannot rule on, possibly shackled by the requirements of this single, industry-approved code of practice. I cannot think of any statutory ombudsman, in any sector, that can only adjudicate within the confines of a specific industry code. Statutory ombudsman such as the Financial Ombudsman Service and the Legal Ombudsman have compulsory jurisdiction over certain regulated sectors and their decisions can be enforced by a court. The statutory new homes ombudsman should be no different.

No single code could possibly cover every eventuality for new home consumer redress. It could get even worse with the Homebuilders Federation (HBF) suggesting that “a detailed set of finishing standards for an ombudsman to apply when assessing the merits of complaints and resolving disputes” no doubt along the principles the housebuilder’s existing NHBC ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card – The “Consistent Approach to Finishes” which is used to justify atrocious workmanship standards as permissible, if deemed “within tolerance”.

New home ombudsman to only cover disputes within first two years

Government has indicated: “We will look to strengthen protection for the first two years after purchase when the majority of problems occur and minimise the variance in the levels of protection and schemes that are currently available.” This is another let off for housebuilders. The other reason given in the APPG report is that it “mirrors the duration for the housebuilders’ liability for defects.” However, the 2-year timescale does not bring warranty schemes under the new homes ombudsman jurisdiction, despite the APPG committee acknowledging my observation that the “The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is not the best organisation to preside over technical disputes.” Hopefully the government will also look at redress for those who already own a defective new home and allow the New Homes Ombudsman to consider complaints retrospectively for the remaining duration of their 10-year warranty, to ensure that owners that reported issues that were never properly dealt with, can also seek redress.

Builder buy-backs (“reversing the sale”) and levy funding

There was no mention of the APPG inquiry report recommendation requiring developers and housebuilders to buy-back new homes, those with serious problems that would require occupants to move out. In addition, whilst all those concerned recognise the need for all housebuilders to contribute via a levy, to fund the new homes ombudsman, there is no detail on this in the government’s response. My suggestion remains a levy of £100 for each new home built each year by every housebuilder and a £500 “case fee” to cover the cost of investigating each claim made against them. The government has confirmed the new homes ombudsman will be “free of charge to buyers of new build homes” unlike the CCHB!

“We propose to bring forward legislation to underpin a New Homes Ombudsman in statute and we will work with industry and consumers prior to legislation so purchasers of new build homes have access to better redress now.“

So “now” by definition is “at the present time or moment” Presumably at the time the government published the response to the consultation on 24 January 2019, better redress or a new homes ombudsman was about to start work, helping beleaguered new homebuyers get justice and their homes fixed? Perhaps this would go some way to explain why the publication of the consultation feedback and government response took 283 days! “Bring forward legislation” – When was it originally scheduled? What “now” is the new date?

As the government stated: “it is clear from the responses that more needs to be done to strengthen consumer redress in relation to new build homes, and to drive up standards across the industry. The need for an easy, effective and independent body for consumers to go to is evident, and supported by the industry. We consider that the fastest way to improve redress is to work with industry and consumers to implement a better redress scheme for purchasers of new build housing as soon as possible”
But when exactly? How long will the process take? And note, this is not the new homes ombudsman but potential backsliding, enabling the industry to continue to short-change its own customers on both quality and service, whilst at the same time no doubt, using its in-house “customer satisfaction survey” “to provide data to rebut negativity”.

The government has stated that “as the proposed new homes ombudsman legislation includes devolved matters, we will continue to engage and consult the devolved administrations to seek agreement to introduce UK-wide legislation.” It is to be hoped that the devolved governments do not become a cause or excuse, for delaying legislation to bring in the statutory new homes ombudsman.

Oh no not another consultation!

“We will consult on the detail of the proposed legislation to statutorily underpin a New Homes Ombudsman. This will include the approval mechanisms and standards that a New Homes Ombudsman must meet as well as whether a Code of Practice for developers should also be underpinned in legislation.”

Could this mean that a housebuilder that does not comply with the requirements of a Code of Practice will be prosecuted? So now we have a clear indication that a Statutory New Homes Ombudsman has the distinct potential to take years not months to create and legislate.

Redress with a ‘Voluntary’ Ombudsman?

“As we introduce statutory arrangements, we will work closely with industry and consumer groups to establish a voluntary new homes ombudsman ahead of legislation. We expect this ombudsman to be:
• Free to the consumer and funded by industry;
• Independent from the organisations the ombudsman will investigate;
• Fair in dealing with disputes;
• Open and transparent and have public accountability through regular reporting;
• And have effective powers to hold developers to account.

Not sure how this can come to be if it is “voluntary” (as is the ineffective CCHB) created in conjunction with the housebuilding industry. Indeed, it may even give the industry an opportunity to suggest that legislation is not necessary as it seeks to prove the voluntary new homes ombudsman has been effective.

Of one thing we can be certain, government cannot and must not, allow the housebuilding industry to make the same bodge job with a new homes ombudsman (whether voluntary or statutory) as they do with the defective new homes they build.

As it stands, the current new home redress proposals are just that, well-intentioned but lacking detail and clarity. Government must act and do so quickly. It must ensure the housebuilding industry, building defective new homes up and down the country and causing untold misery for those that live in them, is not given any opportunity to water down the potential effectiveness of the new homes ombudsman. Let’s make sure these bold proposals become bold actions. You can be sure I will be watching, commenting and will miss nothing. After five years campaigning, the new homes ombudsman is too close for me to allow the industry to manipulate and interfere, or an ineffective government to delay it.

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Housing Redress Consultation – Government finally publish response

Posted on 28/01/2019 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

The wait is over the results are in, and the winner is……
the new homebuyer!

Housing redress consultation

After what has seemed an eternity and without any explanation for the nine-month delay, the Government published its response to the ‘Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market’ consultation on 24 January 2019, which had closed 283 days earlier! As I mentioned in my last article about government dragging its heels on housing reform, uploaded 10 days before this consultation response was made public, MHCLG minister Heather Wheeler stated in a letter to my MP on 1st October 2018, “access to redress is a priority for this government.”

Whilst the government consultation response relates to redress in all housing sectors, I will restrict my comment and subsequent observations to the government’s “reiterated commitment to establishing a New Homes Ombudsman which will champion home buyers, protect their interests and hold developers to account.” as previously announced by James Brokenshire on 1st October 2018.

Disappointingly, just 1,209 responses were received for this consultation, only 355 (34%) from those having bought a new home and 385 (37%) from leaseholders. ‘Industry and organisations’ returned 172 (14%) responses. The consultation “Overcoming the barriers to longer tenancies in the private rented sector” which closed on 26 August 2018, received over 8,700 responses! Are new homebuyers uninterested in having someone fight their corner? “holding developers to account” Nevertheless, I would like to acknowledge and thank the few who did participate on behalf of many thousands of new homebuyers with defective new homes and thank Katie Kendrick of the National Leasehold Campaign who encouraged members of her group to also respond.

In the government housing redress consultation, just 12 people (7%) indicated that had made a complaint using the Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB) IDRS in the last FIVE YEARS! Some respondents said their complaints had been considered as ‘out of scope’ – a common phrase used in the CCHB Case Summaries! A Government inquiry report in July 2016 also concluded the CCHB was “limited in its scope”.

Out of the 167 individuals who rated the service they received from a redress scheme in Q7, 40% were made by those who recently bought a new home and 35% from leaseholders. These two categories made up the majority (79%) of those who said they had received a ‘very poor’ service. In addition, 42% of purchasers of new homes said “yes, they had encountered gaps in current redress schemes.”

The majority of respondents (84%) who replied to Q20, stated that an ombudsman scheme for new homes should be statutory.

Nearly all, 91%, of the new homebuyers that responded said “that a redress scheme should publish decisions and the number of complaints relating to different providers should be made public.”

The response to Q30 regarding a single ombudsman or one for each sector was not disclosed. Nevertheless it is clear that the majority of new homebuyers want a stand-alone, independent statutory new homes ombudsman and this is what the government have pledged to create.

So what was the Government response to this Consultation as far as the New Homes Ombudsman is concerned. I will endeavour to interpret the ambiguity in my next article:

Following the consultation, James Brokenshire announces overhaul of broken housing complaints system“And to protect the interests of home-owners who buy new build homes, government has also reiterated its commitment to establishing a New Homes Ombudsman which will champion homebuyers, protect their interests and hold developers to account.

Legislation will be brought forward at the earliest possible opportunity to require all new developers to belong to the Ombudsman – giving homebuyers the confidence that when they get the keys to a new home they are getting the quality of build they expect.

Developers will also have to belong to the new body by 2021 if they wish to participate in the government’s landmark Help to Buy scheme.

I want to see a single “Code of Practice” on complaint handling across all tenures.”

Consultation – Housing Complaints Resolution Service

Our aim is to provide a single point of access for all the current schemes in housing. We intend to develop this in collaboration with the redress sector, initially on a voluntary basis, but we will keep open the option of legislation to make this mandatory if necessary.

Our ambition ultimately is for the new service to cover all housing consumers including tenants and leaseholders of social and private rented housing as well as purchasers of new build homes and users of all residential property agents.

We propose to establish a Redress Reform Working Group with redress schemes, which will work with industry and consumers on developing the new service and the other options set out in this paper…”

Addressing the gaps “proposing legislation to extend mandatory membership of a redress scheme to: c. developers of new build homes.

The government announced the proposal to create a New Homes Ombudsman service in October 2018. This response indicates how that service will sit in the wider redress landscape and the next steps of its implementation.

First, I want to help plug the gaps in available redress services so that more people can get their housing disputes resolved without going through the courts. To that end, I am proposing a New Homes Ombudsman, underpinned by legislation following the establishment of an interim voluntary service, and requiring developers of new build homes to participate. I will also bring forward legislation to require all private landlords, including private providers of purpose-built student housing, and park home site operators to belong to a redress scheme.

On 1st October 2018 we announced our commitment for a New Homes Ombudsman to protect the rights of buyers of new build homes. These commitments are part of the Government’s drive to close gaps in existing redress services and ensure that all housing consumers have access to redress when things go wrong. This consultation response provides more detail on the implementation of these measures.

We propose to bring forward legislation to underpin a New Homes Ombudsman in statute and we will work with industry and consumers prior to legislation so purchasers of new build homes have access to better redress now.

In the meantime, we will work with industry, warranty providers and consumers to ensure that the distinct practices for the new build sector are addressed and that these are reflected in an agreed single consumer code of practice which would be used by a New Homes Ombudsman to adjudicate against.

New Homes Ombudsman

99. It is clear from the responses that more needs to be done to strengthen consumer redress in relation to new build homes, and to drive up standards across the industry. The need for an easy, effective and independent body for consumers to go to is evident, and supported by the industry. A significant minority of respondents said that there is no current existing redress scheme which is best placed to deliver an ombudsman scheme for purchasers of new build homes.
100. There was very strong support in favour of purchasers of new build homes having access to an ombudsman scheme, and many respondents were in favour of such an ombudsman being statutory. We consider that the fastest way to improve redress is to work with industry and consumers to implement a better redress scheme for purchasers of new build housing as soon as possible.
101. We have announced proposals to ensure that a New Homes Ombudsman is established, working with industry and others. We will look to strengthen protection for the first two years after purchase when the majority of problems occur and minimise the variance in the levels of protection and schemes that are currently available. To ensure that consumers get the protection they deserve, we will introduce legislation to require developers of new build homes to belong to a New Homes Ombudsman, which will be underpinned in statute.
102. It is proposed that the New Homes Ombudsman would charge developers to ensure that the service is free of charge to buyers of new build homes.
103. Developers work across all nations of the UK. As the proposed legislation includes devolved matters, we will continue to engage and consult the devolved administrations to seek agreement to introduce UK-wide legislation.
104. We will consult on the detail of the proposed legislation to statutorily underpin a New Homes Ombudsman. This will include the approval mechanisms and standards that a New Homes Ombudsman must meet as well as whether a Code of Practice for developers should also be underpinned in legislation.
105. As we introduce statutory arrangements, we will work closely with industry and consumer groups to establish a voluntary New Homes Ombudsman ahead of legislation. We expect this ombudsman to be:
• Free to the consumer and funded by industry;
• Independent from the organisations the ombudsman will investigate;
• Fair in dealing with disputes;
•Open and transparent and have public accountability through regular reporting;
• And have effective powers to hold developers to account.
106. At Budget 2018, we announced that a new Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme will run for 2 years from April 2021 before closing in March 2023. We will establish the condition that housing developers must belong to a New Homes Ombudsman to participate in the new Help to Buy Scheme.
107. Although there are benefits to having competing redress providers as set out in the section on the Private Rented Sector which has an established redress system, it is clear that the number of schemes operating in the new build sector has created an unacceptable variance of standards and, as we have an opportunity to establish a new system without disruption to consumers and there is a need to reform all the existing schemes, we believe a single New Homes Ombudsman could solve these issues without unnecessary disruption. Our consultation will consider whether one or more organisations could provide a quality service to consumers under the principles above.”

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Why is the Conservative government dragging its heels over housing reform?

Posted on 14/01/2019 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

Why is the Conservative Government dragging its heels over housing reform?

Amongst a great government fanfare, the then DCLG Secretary Sajid Javid published the twice delayed Housing White Paper on 7 February 2017 entitled “fixing our broken housing market” At the time this was widely derided as “more of a consultative document than a white paper.” It contained promises to ban the sale of leasehold new houses; reform leasehold; end housebuilder landbanking and even acknowledged the existence of the APPG for Excellence in the Built Environment (2016) “More Homes, fewer complaints” – report from the Commission of Inquiry into the quality and workmanship of new housing in England, confirming it would:
“keep requirements under review, to ensure that they remain fit for purpose and meet future needs. This includes looking at further opportunities for simplification and rationalisation while maintaining standards.”

In December 2016, the then housing minister Gavin Barwell said:
“The Government will be considering the recommendations in the report in developing future policy on new home”

Whilst Javid may have claimed his housing white paper would provide “radical lasting reform” to fix the broken housing market, it would appear that very little, in fact nothing, has actually been done in the last three years.

Since then the “Consultation Party” has announced various consultations, reviews, reports and inquiries but as yet, nothing has changed. For big housebuilding it is very much Keep Calm and Carry On Regardless.

Government action required not just words!

Take leasehold new houses. This was debated as long ago as 20 December 2016 in the House of Commons. Not one MP came out and spoke in favour of selling brand new houses as leasehold. But many called for it to be banned with Sir Peter Bottomley comprehensively exposed the abuses said:
“this goes beyond sleaze”
Justin Madders Labour MP for Ellesmere Port and Neston said:
“This is nothing short of a national scandal. It is the PPI of the house building industry”
The then MP and housing minister Gavin Barwell said:
“I cannot think of any good reason for houses to be built on a leasehold basis. If the industry does not put a stop to the practice and help existing homeowners, we will look to see what Government can do”
Even Theresa May stuck her prime ministerial beak into the argument saying on 1st March 2017:
“we will consult on a range of measures to tackle unfair and unreasonable abuses of leasehold. I do not see why new homes should not be built and sold with the freehold interest at the point of sale.”

So the government consultation “tackling unfair practices in the leasehold market” was launched on 25 July 2017 to 19 September 2017 with the report on 6,075 responses published 91 days later on 21 December 2017. On 2 July 2018, 19 months after the commons debate, the government announced:
“New government funding schemes will no longer be able to use the money for unjustified new leasehold houses, in a continuing push to tackle unfair and abusive practices within the leasehold system”

Quite what would be deemed “unjustified” is unclear except it gives an opportunity for housebuilders to justify, which they could not with a blanket ban
This was first suggested by Justin Madders during the commons debate and implemented in Wales in March 2018 with developers in Wales will now no longer be able to receive Help to Buy funding for new houses sold as leasehold unless they can present a legitimate reason for retaining the freehold.

On 2nd July 2018 current Housing Secretary James Brokenshire announced “funding for leasehold new houses to end” and, in a bid to “create a fairer more transparent system for homebuyers”, the latest MHCLG Consultation “Strengthening consumer redress in housing” gave new homebuyers an opportunity to insist on a fully independent New Homes Ombudsman, closed on 16 April 2017. At the time of writing, some 274 days later, the feedback is apparently still being “analysed”!

I wrote to my MP Gillian Keegan as long ago as 31 August 2018 to ask why the government response had not been published? She forwarded a copy of a letter from Housing Minister Heather Wheeler dated 1st October 2018 which stated that “access to redress is a priority for this government” and “we intend to publish our consultation response later this year” [2018]

Obviously that has still yet to happen. It looks like Heather Wheeler would have trouble forecasting six o’clock at half past five!

So why is everything taking so long? I can see any reason whatsoever why new laws cannot be debated, drafted and enacted to a given timetable. Brexit is not an excuse! Even simple improvements for new homebuyers could be set up with relative ease and yet they are not. Has this government a hidden agenda? Is it in league with big housebuilding? Is the “Consultation Party” relying on huge donations for the next election campaign?

Whatever the reason, and there must be one, such a dire performance in both work output and results would not be tolerated in any other form of employment.

It is clear and has been for many years, that plc housebuilders put their profits above anything else; good service to their customers, high quality new homes, value, warranties that really do give peace of mind, not scamming by selling leasehold new houses and homes with fleecehold management charges all are possible and deliverable but nothing has been done.

Make no mistake; the housebuilding industry is rotten to its very core. It will never ever change without a strong government forcing it to.
A lot of things have got to change. Real change has got to come from Parliament, from a strong leadership. Not much chance of that at the moment! It could have been so different. On 1st October 2018 James Brokenshire announced that a New Homes Ombudsman was being created “champion homebuyers, protect their interests and hold developers to account” So what, if anything, has been done to progress this in the last 107 days?

As Hugh Fearnley Whittington eloquently put it:
“if there’s one thing we know about those in the Government, it’s that anything that costs money, anything that pits government against big business, even if everyone knows it is the right thing to do, appear to make it harder and slower for them to get on and do it. There is one thing that can make a huge difference and that is YOU, US, THE PEOPLE”

So I call on everyone, let us make 2019 the year of #PeoplePower. It is time to force those government announcements into actions.

On 5th October 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May told the Conservative Party Conference that she was about:
“Righting wrongs: Challenging vested interests : Taking big decisions : Doing what we believe to be right : Getting the job done : That’s the good that Government can do and that’s what I’m in this for : Standing up for the weak, standing up to the strong.”
Perhaps she might like to tell the electorate exactly WHEN she is planning to start!

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Consumer Code for Homebuilders – Causing the Confusion!

Posted on 10/11/2018 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

So much for “Clearing the confusion” the Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB) appears to be creating it with its latest webpage purporting to “answer” consumer’s questions following the government announcement last month that a statutory new homes ombudsman was being created.

It would seem that the conclusions in the APPG Report published in July 2015 “More homes Fewer Complaints” appear to be lost on the Consumer Code for Home Builders as it ramps up rhetoric in a battle for its very survival now government has announced the creation of a statutory new homes ombudsman.

**Under the headline “Clearing up the confusion” the CCHB allegedly answers questions from consumers:**

“Will the proposed New Homes Ombudsman replace the need for the Consumer Code?

Yes it would. The APPG Inquiry Report number 1 “Key recommendation” that a New Homes Ombudsman be set up saying “it would need to be completely independent and replace the dispute resolution service offered as part of the Consumer Code for Home Builders. This same Inquiry reported that the Consumer Code for Homebuilders:

“does not appear to give homebuyers the safeguards we think they should expect”
“it does not appear to us objectively to offer consumers a wholly satisfactory form of redress”
“is limited in its scope”

Yet the Consumer Code for Homebuilders ‘clears the confusion’ saying:

“The spotlight is on proposals for a new homes ombudsman once again, and we are actively working with government to understand how the new proposals will work in practice and what rights consumers would have under the scheme. In the meantime, however, there has been some confusion about the role of an ombudsman.

There are clear rules about what an ombudsman can and can’t do. While they can award a remedy (including money) to rectify a problem, they don’t have jurisdiction to fine organisations or apply standards. So introducing a new homes ombudsman may help with dealing with the complaints about existing problems, but it won’t prevent future problems arising.”

Wrong! An Ombudsman can award substantial justifiable compensation to consumers which would amount to a fine in all but name. All adjudication decisions would be publicly available in full with housebuilders named and shamed. By its very existence it would, as the APPG Inquiry Report alluded to, “put pressure on housebuilders to up their game in the first place and spur them on to improve workmanship and increase levels of customer service”

“We want service standards in home building to improve. Training and compliance checks are needed which is one of the areas we focus on.”
[The training being of housebuilders’ sales staff and estate agents – The CCHB specifically does not cover defects, poor quality or warranty issues]
“Furthermore, under the Consumer Code, builders can and have been held to account for not complying with an adjudicator’s decision.”
Really? Where is the evidence? James Brokenshire said the new homes ombudsman would go further and “champion homebuyers, protect their interests and hold developers to account”

This is an industry-led and industry funded Code that would never bite the hand that feeds it.

“Our Advisory Forum advises the Code on policy and action. We also have a fully independent disciplinary and sanctions panel which considers what action should be taken against those builders that breach the Code requirements. For example, one builder was suspended from building any new homes until all staff had been trained on the Code to prevent further breaches of the Code.”
But presumably not many, if any, have had their registration cancelled by the warranty providers. We don’t know because it has never been published!

Does the Consumer Code offer any more rights than existing legislation?

“Unfortunately, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 does not cover purchases of new homes.” That’s why the protection provided by the Consumer Code is so important – the Code gives buyers of new homes protection if they change their mind or find sales literature misleading or inaccurate.”
Wrong! It does as far as ‘services’ are concerned. However, no consumer legislation at all specifically covers property. The CCHB does not give consumers any “Protection” it is merely a set of requirements that plc housebuilders appear to pay little more than lip service to at best.

“The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 offers some protection.”
Wrong again! Not “some protection” – it covers every area regarding selling property. The CCHB was set up by the industry to prevent housebuilders being reported to Trading Standards and ending up in court.

“However, it requires Trading Standards to take enforcement action or consumers to bring their own action, which can be complex and costly.”
That is specifically why the Statutory New Homes Ombudsman is being created.

“Where issues are identified under the Consumer Code, home buyers can use the Code’s Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme rather than take lengthy and costly legal action through the courts. We’re raising awareness of the Code because we want more home buyers to make use of this scheme to seek redress where a breach of the Code has been identified.”
The CCHB has existed for over 8 years yet apparently raising awareness is still necessary? A statutory new homes ombudsman would give consumers a right to redress in any dispute with housebuilders, in the same way the Financial Ombudsman Services does with financial providers. The statutory new homes ombudsman would not and must not be, restricted and shackled by specific Code requirements drawn up in collaboration with the industry and its own vested interests.

Why doesn’t the Code deal with more cases?
Good question! Because no housebuilder is going to promote the CCHB as it would make complaints more likely! In addition, the CCHB charges consumers an administration fee of £120 to register a complaint, and in some “successful” cases, this fee has not been refunded.
“We are continually raising awareness of the Code”
It hasn’t improved in the last 8 years! In fact I’ve done more to raise awareness of the CCHB and encourage buyers to use it after they sought my advice.
“so that we can encourage more people to access our independent dispute resolution scheme, including lawyers involved in new home purchases.”
The majority of solicitors being those that housebuilders force or coerce buyers to use even though this breaches requirement 2.5 of the CCHB!
“We are also working on removing/reducing any barriers that may exist to raising a complaint as well as investigating options to raise the maximum award limit.”
This is too little too late. Now consumers will hopefully soon be able to use the new statutory new homes ombudsman: FREE – FAIR- FOR EVERYTHING

“Satisfaction with new homes has increased according to the Home Builders Federation which surveys new home owners.”
Wrong! Satisfaction has not increased. True it is 2% higher than in the previous years survey at 86%, but still way below the 91% in 2013!

“The latest survey response rate was 62% (57,972 responses), in which 90% said they would buy a new build again. Warranty bodies have also seen a drop in claims raised.”
Spin and PR? An example of this industry never letting an opportunity for a bit of HBF survey spin pass by!
FACT – 99% of new homebuyers reported defects to their housebuilder within weeks of moving in.
FACT – 41% reported more than ten defects!

There is a danger that Government will bow to industry pressure and propaganda like this, placing limits on the effectiveness and powers of the statutory New Homes Ombudsman.

Bearing in mind the government said it “will work with consumers and industry to develop our proposals and publish more details in due course.” But is this a delaying tactic? Whatever the perceived necessity for “further work”, the housebuilding industry is grasping it as an opportunity to lessen the impact that a statutory new homes ombudsman will undoubtedly have on their businesses.

Any perceived failure, collusion or delay with regard to the creation of the statutory new homes ombudsman will only serve to increase consumers (voters) existing and growing belief that government is ‘in bed’ with the housebuilding industry, for example some have already questioned the recent extension of help to buy to 2023, albeit restricted to first time buyers. It is time that for once government ignored the whining of this broken uncaring industry, one that has been running roughshod over new homebuyers for decades ans is ruining lives. This Hansard debate from 22 April 1998 is as relevant today as it was then Why have so many successive governments failed to act? They must do so now.

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MPs back plan for New Homes Ombudsman

Posted on 27/06/2018 by New Home Expert | Comments Off

Housebuilders must belong to New Homes Ombudsman to provide better redress for dissatisfied new homebuyers.

In its report, published on 26 June 2018, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment called on the government to make it mandatory for all housebuilders to belong to an independent ombudsman scheme.

Close but no cigar, that’s my verdict on the All Party Parliamentary Group EBE report from their secret, behind closed doors, inquiry sessions in “February and March” “looking into the potential and detail for a New Homes Ombudsman.” The good news is the report acknowledges that:

“Buying a defective new home can take a massive toll on people’s wellbeing as they wrestle with an almost Kafkaesque system seemingly designed to be unhelpful. We cannot allow this to continue. Consumers desperately need greater leverage to drive a change in this culture in order to ensure that housebuilders put them at the heart of what they do.”

Kafkaesque: bureaucratic delays, a situation that is confusing and frightening, especially one involving complicated official rules and systems that do not seem to make any sense, a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality.

Much of this latest APPG EBE inquiry report, (published 27 June 2018), repeats previous recommendations of the 13 July 2016 Inquiry report strangely titled “More Homes Fewer Complaints” . Indeed this report could also have been more accurately titled “Better redress for new homebuyers” as it concerns a New Homes Ombudsman. However, the title belies the government’s preferred option of a New Homes Ombudsman within a wider, ‘single portal’, general “Housing Ombudsman” however, “due to the technical nature, suggested new homes disputes would need their own separate and bespoke operation” Even the HBF agree with this, but government should be mindful that HBF’s motivation may be an attempt to retain industry control and influence over any stand-alone new homes ombudsman.

The report states : “We have been heartened to hear of efforts to improve performance from the Home Builders Federation (HBF), senior management at many housebuilders are taking steps to address the multiplicity of issues” according to the HBF. It was a great pity that the person that originally proposed the idea of a dedicated new homes ombudsman at the 2015 APPG EBE inquiry, was not even invited to orally rebut this industry-led smokescreen of lies and untruths. On page 20 Box 3, the HBF director of communications did a sterling job using words such as “put schemes in place” “progressing” “developing” “working with” “prepare” yet not one shred of “we have done” in the two years since the first inquiry report was published. He even claimed that the spectacular fall in satisfaction levels over the last five years (over 8%) in the industry’s own survey, “had been arrested” by a blip upwards of just 2% last year. I believe this is more a result of industry manipulation rather than any perceivable genuine increase in overall satisfaction levels. Recommendation 10 of the previous inquiry report was that the HBF annual customer satisfaction survey be more independent. Has the HBF progressed this? No, there has been not a single change.

Indeed, reading this inquiry report it can be concluded that various interested parties within the industry (HBF, Consumer Code for Home Builders (CCHB), Consumer Code for New Homes, NHBC, LABC, Ombudsman Services, and Housing Ombudsman, all gave oral presentations) have their paw prints all over this report. The report concluding: “We were encouraged by a more positive tone from housebuilders, warranty providers and operators of consumer codes of conduct than we encountered in our first report” Perhaps this only because of the growing likelihood of an independent new homes ombudsman who will making honest rulings on the facts and award justifiable, meaningful compensation. Whilst also making those operating various industry-led consumer codes redundant.

It was however encouraging, that many of the points made in my written submission were included in the inquiry report, including requiring housebuilders to buy-back their most seriously defective new homes.

So what is the good, the bad and the ugly?

The good

Need for a New Homes Ombudsman is recognised

On a positive note the APPG EBE again acknowledges the need for an independent new homes ombudsman, free to consumers and funded by a levy paid for by housebuilders. I suggested £100 per home built. The report suggested £50 per home, raising £8.5m a year (170,000 homes). The HBF accepts their industry should pay. Nevertheless despite to obvious need for a new homes ombudsman, which even the industry itself appears to now accept is inevitably required, the Government has done nothing at all to help new homebuyers, which this report acknowledges are “going through hell”, “fighting redress was taking a toll on their health”. One distraught new homebuyer even told me last week that he was considering killing himself!

Housebuilders forced to buy back defective homes

The report recommends (as I did in my written submission) “that in certain extreme situations, the New Homes Ombudsman should be able to reverse the sale of the property” The re purchase price should be at current market value to include all associated moving costs, stamp duty, legal fees, carpets and curtains etc.

All New Homes Ombudsman rulings to be made public

This is to “flag up trends in housebuilders’ performance and publish annual reports collating awards made throughout the year.” This would enable future potential new homebuyers to see the worst offenders.

Tough sanctions

“A statutory requirement that any organization building and selling new homes belong to the New Homes Ombudsman to be able to trade.”
“If they are struck off, they lose the ability to operate.”

Review of warranties

“To see if they are fit for purpose for homebuyers and to establish and easier form of redress with warranty providers as part of a New Homes Ombudsman role.”

The bad

No separate stand-alone new homes ombudsman (NHO)

It remains to be seen if the NHO staff at any housing ombudsman would be sufficiently skilled, with adequate technical knowledge to fully understand and rule on the technical aspects of building defects, warranty standards and building regulations.

No case fees

Case fees would to penalise the worst offenders but the committee thought “the disadvantages would out way the advantages.” If there are no case fees, there is no financial incentive for housebuilders to attempt a settle a complaint without recourse to the Ombudsman.

New home ombudsman to only cover disputes within first two years

This is a let off for housebuilders. The only reason given was that it “mirrors the duration for the housebuilders’ liability for defects.” However, the 2-year timescale does not bring warranty schemes under the new homes ombudsman jurisdiction, despite the committee acknowledging my observation that the “The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is not the best organisation to preside over technical disputes.” New home warranty providers would not be included in the new homes ombudsman scheme as they are already covered under the FOS.

Awards made by the new homes ombudsman to consumers would limited to £50,000

Whilst this is better than the pitiful £15,000 maximum of the CCHB, it does not go far enough given the cost and inconvenience to owners with serious defects. Going to court is not an option for new homebuyers. Housebuilders have deep pockets would and do, fight every buyer legal action, settling subject to a non-disclosure agreement for fear of setting a precedent. Amazingly, the report concludes that the NHO should operate along the lines of other ombudsman to ensure “the consumer not be out of pocket and that their financial status is restored to what it was before the complaint.” This clearly isn’t going to work for new homebuyers with many having to stay in temporary accommodation whilst their homes serious defects are remediated. Sadly this demonstrates the lack of understanding by the committee of the overall problem faced by new homebuyers, something which I could have helped with had I been invited to give an oral submission.

The report recommended that any new homes ombudsman would not be statutory, despite a number of witnesses recommending this to the inquiry committee.

There is little point of asking for expert opinion if when given, it is then ignored. This is being suggested purely in the interests of simplicity and speed “because it can be set up more easily and quickly. Our overriding concern is to see consumers getting better redress as soon as possible.” It has now been over two years since the first inquiry report “Key” number 1 recommendation being the setting up of a new homes ombudsman. Why has government failed to do anything regarding setting up an ombudsman for new homebuyers’ redress, when it is obviously time critical? Indeed the Government’s own consultation which ended on 16 April 2018, has not even finished “analysing feedback” over 3 months later!

The Ugly

A new “Industry-wide code of practice”

There are apparently seven consumer codes regarding new homes – “all different but sharing a general lack of obligations placed on home builders.” The Property Ombudsman said that the Codes “are written in a way to suggest that they exist to contain complaints” which indeed they do, all being set up following The Consumer Protection for Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

But the worst part of this report is the proposal for a new “industry-wide code of practice, with government, warranty providers, housebuilders and consumer groups working together, in consultation, to draw up a code that would be used by the new homes ombudsman (NHO) to adjudicate on disputes.” Not only will this give the industry an opportunity to influence what the new homes ombudsman can and cannot rule on, it will also mean the NHO would be shackled by the requirements of a single, industry-approved code of practice, which many housebuilders will be able to circumnavigate as they currently do with their own CCHB. I cannot think of a single ombudsman, in any sector, that can only adjudicate within the confines of a specific industry code. No single code could possibly cover every eventuality for new home consumer redress. It gets even worse with the HBF suggesting that “a detailed set of finishing standards for an ombudsman to apply when assessing the merits of complaints and resolving disputes” no doubt in their mind the housebuilder’s existing NHBC ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card The “Consistent Approach to Finishes” which is used to justify atrocious workmanship standards as permissible, if deemed “within tolerance”

It remains to be seen whether this APPG EBE Inquiry Report is given any consideration by government. Clearly, none of recommendations of the previous inquiry have been implemented. In the meantime, every week many thousands of new homebuyers move into homes that have defects, often serious defects, only to discover housebuilders and warranty providers are failing them. It is time the government stood up to ‘big housebuilding’ and set up an independent New Homes Ombudsman without any further unnecessary bureaucratic delay.

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Tagged APPG EBE Inquiry, Consumer Code for Home Builders, new homes ombudsman, quality

Tag Archives: new homes ombudsman

House builders’ new Code of Practice

Legal and other professional advisors

Provide all relevant information.

Other requirements

For the first time a house builder Code with requirements for fixing defects and snags

Response to consultation and government delay in creating the Statutory New Homes Ombudsman

New Home Expert’s Consultation responses:

FREE – FAIR – FOR EVERYTHING

New Homes Ombudsman – Who is running the show?

The CCHB response to the Scotland New build buyer protection bill

Does this Government fully appreciate the urgent need for a new homes ombudsman?

Voluntary Code of Practice for new homes

Warranty schemes excluded from the new homes ombudsman

Different consultation – same questions!

Do we want the new homes ombudsman delivered by the private sector?

“Shadow form” new homes ombudsman!

HBF New Home Customer Satisfaction Survey Results 2019

But do the general public take note of the housebuilder star ratings?

So why is this survey so important for the industry?

James Brokenshire re announces the statutory New Homes Ombudsman but when will it be operational?

Code of Practice

The New Homes Ombudsman must not be restricted to a new single, industry Code of Practice

New home ombudsman to only cover disputes within first two years

Builder buy-backs (“reversing the sale”) and levy funding

Redress with a ‘Voluntary’ Ombudsman?

The wait is over the results are in, and the winner is…… the new homebuyer!

Housing redress consultation

Consultation – Housing Complaints Resolution Service

New Homes Ombudsman

Why is the Conservative Government dragging its heels over housing reform?

Government action required not just words!

Under the headline “Clearing up the confusion” the CCHB allegedly answers questions from consumers:

“Will the proposed New Homes Ombudsman replace the need for the Consumer Code?

Does the Consumer Code offer any more rights than existing legislation?

Kafkaesque: bureaucratic delays, a situation that is confusing and frightening, especially one involving complicated official rules and systems that do not seem to make any sense, a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality.

The good

Need for a New Homes Ombudsman is recognised

Housebuilders forced to buy back defective homes

All New Homes Ombudsman rulings to be made public

Tough sanctions

Review of warranties

The bad

No separate stand-alone new homes ombudsman (NHO)

No case fees

New home ombudsman to only cover disputes within first two years

Awards made by the new homes ombudsman to consumers would limited to £50,000

The report recommended that any new homes ombudsman would not be statutory, despite a number of witnesses recommending this to the inquiry committee.

The Ugly

A new “Industry-wide code of practice”

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The wait is over the results are in, and the winner is……
the new homebuyer!

**Under the headline “Clearing up the confusion” the CCHB allegedly answers questions from consumers:**