A new-build home should combine beauty and great architecture. All too often, however, the reality is different: ugly, poky and even dangerous.
This has forced the Government into action.
A New Homes Ombudsman is to be appointed, and yesterday the Government published its report by the Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission, which is intended to bring a massive improvement in design and durability.
The report even calls for planning permission to be denied to schemes that do not meet a ‘beauty benchmark,’ which may be based, among other things, on a ‘respect for heritage’.
Fresh faced: This six-bedroom home in Minsterworth, Gloucestershire is for sale with Knight Frank for £795,000, knightfrank.co.uk
These recommendations and the rise in modular or prefabricated construction should speed up the revolution.
But change is not guaranteed, despite calls for businesses which flout any new guidelines to be excluded from the Government’s Help to Buy scheme for new-build homes.
As a result, buyers of new homes will still have to act as their own quality control inspectors, whether they are buying a £175,000 flat under Help to Buy, or a penthouse apartment.
Appearances can be deceiving. The developer’s showhome may epitomise the lifestyle you long for, but buyers should look for tricks: for example, the furniture may have been scaled down in size to make a room seem larger.
There are space standards for new-build homes; the minimum floor area for a one-bedroom flat, for example, is 37 sq metres (398 sq ft, about the size of a Tube carriage so scarcely spacious) but former office blocks, converted to residential use, are not obliged to comply.
In the quest for a good deal, buyers should consider using their own mortgage broker and solicitor, rather than those recommended by the developer.
These professionals need to act in the buyer’s interest; to negotiate the asking price; or research information on threats such as flooding.
Buyers should also check the housebuilder’s performance on the Home Builders Federation customer satisfaction ratings.
Experts say that the best developers will have a five-star score in each of the past five years.
A four-star score may be acceptable; anything lower could spell trouble.
Home buyers need to research information on threats such as flooding
To avoid wrangling in the future, a full survey is needed at the outset. Buyers should also carry out their own detective work.
One expert even contends that buyers should try to loosen the plinth below one of the kitchen cabinets. If rubbish has been swept underneath, this can indicate wider negligence.
Alternatively, knock on the doors of neighbours who have already moved in to ask about their experiences. Buyers should also look out for small tell-tale signs that profit margin has been prioritised over quality.
David Birkbeck, chief executive of Design For Homes, an independent consultancy, says: ‘I would steer clear of a home with a parking place that has a blacktop material surface.
‘This may look smart enough, but, in reality, it’s one of the indications that the developer has been cutting corners to keep the costs down.
He adds: ‘I would prefer to see a parking space that has been paved and surrounded by landscaping, which is the more expensive option for the developer.
‘I would also be minded to avoid a house with a porch that’s cheaply made of polystyrene, rather than of more lasting wood and tile.’
Birkbeck says: ‘If the back garden fence should have a gate, but doesn’t, ask yourself what else you will need to buy that the builder should have provided.’
Although you may hope that you are going to live happily ever after in the home, the relationship could turn sour, so be aware of your rights.
The National House Building Council provides warranties for new-build homes, based on inspections of foundations, sewer pipes and similar features during construction.
But for the first two years of ownership, all complaints must go to the developer, who should carry out repairs (although NHBC can intervene).
The NHBC takes over for the next eight years, but cosmetic issues are not within its scope, which means that defects in finish can fall between the cracks of the system.
You may feel awkward asking questions, but why should you settle for an imperfect product?
The Government is promising to deliver 300,000 new homes a year.
How much better for everyone if these were solidly built, attractive properties, rather than a shoddy blight on the landscape of cities, towns and villages?
