House building guarantee

[derryman]

i moved into my new house in march. at the time there where a few jobs not finished in the house for example, chimney not painted, down-stairs bathroom sink leaking, windows not sealed,bathroom shower missing tiles. at this time i informed the builder of the minor problems with the house. 2 weeks later he sent a bloke out and repaired the bathroom shower. The thing is ive phoned him countless times to come out and finish the jobs but he still hasnt and its almost September! i do know that there is a 10 year guarantee with the house when i bought it. will i contact the lender or will i contact my solicitor; what can i do? help! p.s. the builder got all his money so there was no money with held until he finished his work.

[rekstout]

An NHBC gaurantee or Architect's Certificate is there to cover major structural elements as opposed to what would be deemed "snagging" as you describe. There may be a clause in you sale contract stipulating a timescale for all snagging to be completed. Most reputable housebuilders will snag for up to a year following completions (especially for things like plaster shrinkage and settlement). If you bought from a major builder then take it as far up the chain of command as you can (try companies house for a list of directors) or - for a smaller builder write a letter yourself saying that you are considering taking legal advice on these matters. Make sure to include a list of outstanding work with every correspondance so that they cannot feign ignorance - call them every day - if you annoy them enough then they will do your jobs just to get you off their backs.

[adi]

I also bought a new build home from (relatively) reputable developer, spent 2 years getting them to finish work/fix 'snags' similar to yours - power shower installed upside down, unvarnished banisters, unearthed light fixtures, bathroom sink leaking, toilet lid loose, gaps in mastic around bath, holes in wall, unsealed windows, the list went on for another 5 pages.. all this from supposedly the no. 1 housebuilder, which the majority was fixed in the first year. Near the end of the 2 years they didn't return calls, didn't show up, etc, so I enlisted a 'snagging' inspector service and like magic, everything was followed up on. Like you, we had also settled fully before we moved in. The snagging inspectors will come around and inspect your home for defects, and believe me, they will find things you would have never thought of. I used Inpector Home who got good results - well worth the money, although it seems a lot at first. Saved me from pulling my hair out, and time on the phone trying to contact the developer. The first 2 years of the warranty should be covered by the developer but the service should be able to advise you. At the risk of sounding like I'm spamming, the site is www.inspectorhome.co.uk, they've helped with reports on Watchdog, and I just wished I'd heard of them before we exchanged contracts with the developer! Good luck derryman.

[Jteb]

If the guarantee is from the NHBC snagging defects such as these are covered for the first two years or your warranty. You can notify the developer in writing at any time during this period and they will be obliged to fix the defects if they are below NHBC standards. Snagging companies such as Inspector Homes and New Build Inspections or a Chartered Surveyor will give you extra leverage. There was an article about this in the Sunday Times last week http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,2771-1243384_1,00. html