Building warranties are insurance policies for newly built homes that are taken out by the builder or developer to protect the buyer and offer them peace of mind that any defects in their home will be put right.
Typically lasting ten years, building warranties cover the defects liability period - this can be split out as:
The first two years after the property is built, but only where the builder fails to rectify defects.
The structural liability period between years three and ten.
During the first couple of years, building warranties require that issues arising as the result of unsatisfactory work carried out by the builders, such as faulty windows, leaks or non-compliant work, are repaired.
Throughout the structural insurance period, the warranty provider is responsible for major structural problems related to the property, such as issues with the foundations or roof, while minor issues become the responsibility of the homeowner.
However, warranty providers and homebuilders can easily find themselves with conflicting priorities which can spell trouble for a homeowner in terms of getting resolution of issues. As a result, obtaining building warranty support is something every homebuilder should consider.
Here are four reasons why:
Fewer delays
Because warranty providers tend to focus on compliance with their technical standards via site inspections, they won't usually check designs, often resulting in what can be seen as a reactive rather than proactive approach.
This can easily cause delays slowing down the whole homebuilding process, resulting in frustrated builders and unhappy buyers.
However, by ensuring you have building warranty support before you submit your application or start building on site, you can avoid delays by ensuring you’re fully aware of your responsibilities and effectively achieve compliance.
Dealing with site problems
With many variations on build style, complex regulation and related technical requirements, site problems are a common occurrence in the homebuilding industry leading to hold ups and disputes about what can be done to resolve these problems.
Fortunately, with our experience we’ve seen many examples of what can go wrong on construction sites. What’s more, our understanding of warranty providers’ technical requirements and policy coverage and our ability to tailor our technical investigation and construction reports to support appropriate outcomes can help satisfy your liabilities and responsibilities.
Assistance during the 'defects liability' period
During the defects liability period - the first two years after a buyer has taken possession of their property when any defects are rectified - good understanding by the housebuilder of their obligations to the buyer is vital, as any repairs will need to be carried out based on sound diagnosis and appropriate repair whilst inconveniencing the buyer as little as possible and may involve out-of-hours working.
Once again without the right support in place this can lead to poor diagnosis causing ongoing issues and drag on and causing problems for all parties. We can help you manage your customer relations and also determine what work needs to be carried out and by whom.
Providing support with new NHQB codes
Building on the last point, the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB) are introducing their new code of practice for property builders (in particular customer service teams) to follow, which is aimed at providing more protection for purchasers of new builds. This could see a significant increase in customer queries and unprepared customer service teams may then struggle to deal with the demand - or simply the handling of the new requirements of the code.
Poor customer service is both damaging for a developer’s reputation, but also for the satisfaction levels of existing customers. We have the knowledge needed to assist your customer service team with this to help get issues resolved and also help train your staff with the new processes and expectations that stem from the new code.
Learn more about what we can do for you
As expert consultants with more than 50 years of collective experience, links to specialist surveyors and robust quality control processes, we can help you resolve a wide range of issues, to help you avoid delays and save you time and money with your development.
From helping manage technical issues, to providing inspection services and detailed defect investigation reports, we can take care of the finer points so you can concentrate on what you do best - build new homes.
Find out more about our specialist developer support services here.