Since the first round of developers went live in October 2022, NHOS have started to receive our first consumer complaints via the online platform. 

The complaints have been varied, and it’s interesting for us to see what kind of new build house problems customers have. The downside however, is that we have not been able to accept and investigate these cases due to the following reasons: 

• The complaint(s) arose before developer joined the scheme 
• The customer(s) had not exhausted the developer’s internal complaints procedure 
• The complaint(s) were not appropriate for the New Homes Ombudsman Service 

Although we were not able to help on those occasions, the insight provided is very valuable to us as we develop our service. 

The positive side though is that all customers were able to find and use the online platform, and were able to provide their evidence without assistance from a member of the customer service team. Being able to access the service easily is incredibly important to us, and these early cases demonstrate that the platform is working. You can access the online portal here. 

As a consumer, what should I do? 

We will not be able to accept property developer complaints prior to their activation date, and consumers must ensure that they have exhausted the developer’s complaints process before getting in touch. You can check their activation status here.  

The first step when solving new build house problems should be to raise a formal complaint with the developer and allow them to complete their procedure. Once you have received either a final closure letter, or 56 days have expired without a response, you can contact NHOS and ask us to consider the case. 

We will ask both parties to provide an explanation and evidence in support of their position, and you will be able to see what the other has provided. Once this has been gathered, we will explore whether we can resolve the case informally (through facilitated conversations), via mediation or formally through adjudication. 

If NHOS cannot consider the complaint, the warranty provider or one of the alternative codes may be able to help. Your developer can tell you which code they are a member of, and this may also be within your purchase paperwork. 

To see the full explanation of the rules and conditions for new build house problems, please click here.  

Further help with new build house problems 

If you have any questions around the new home code of practice or making a complaint about your home builder, you can reach our team on 03308 084 286 or customer.services@nhos.org.uk