The establishment of a NHOS was the number one recommendation made by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment in its report More homes fewer complaints in 2016 that focussed on the well-publicised and high-profile quality and redress issues experienced by customers of new build homes.

In 2017 the then Secretary of State Sajid Javid announced that the Government wanted to see the introduction of a New Homes Ombudsman.

The NHOS will provide customers with access to fair and efficient redress as well as more confidence in new build homes, and will provide Governments with the assurance that as they introduce policies to increase housing supply, the industry will be delivering high standards of quality, service and customer satisfaction. 

The NHQB is currently in the process of finalising the NHQC and putting in place the NHOS.

The draft NHQC was consulted on over Summer and a final version will be published before the end of the year.

Following an extensive procurement process the NHQB has now selected a preferred partner who it will now work with – in line with Ombudsman Association requirements – to develop and activate the NHOS.

Developers will be expected to start to register with the NHQB in Q1 of 2022

Once registered the NHQB will work with individual companies to ensure they are ready to adhere to the requirements of the NHQC. Once they are, the developer will be activated and all customers reserving new homes from that point will be covered by the requirements of the NHQC and have access to the NHOS.

All builders will be expected to be registered with the NHQB by the end of 2022.

Once the New Homes Ombudsman Service (NHOS) is in place, there will be a transition period during which time developers will be asked to sign up to the new arrangement. You will not be able to access the NHOS until your developer has registered with the NHQB and signed up to the new arrangements. However, please be reassured that you will still be protected by the existing redress process and consumer codes still in place if you reserve before the new arrangements are in place.

Yes. The NHQB is an independent, not for profit stand-alone legal entity. It an independent chair and deputy chair and the board comprises representatives with experience from a range of sectors including consumer bodies, developers, providers of new home warranties and the lending industry; there are also two independent board members; whilst Homes England attend the board in a representative capacity.  Constitutional safeguards have been put in place to ensure the board has a majority of non-industry representatives on it, which means that builders can’t control it.

A process is currently underway to recruit two more independent board members and a new independent chair.

We firmly believe that the new code and the broader framework including the appointment of a NHOS will deliver a step change in industry behaviours.

The consultation on the New Homes Quality Code received over 250 responses from consumers and a wide variety of stakeholders. These have resulted in over 400 detailed changes to the version of the code that was consulted on.

The draft of the Code that was put out for consultation was itself a result of some four years of engagement with a broad range of stakeholders including existing Consumer Code bodies, consumers, governments, lenders, warranty providers, house builders, and industry and sector bodies. 

The final version will be issued alongside detailed guidance and training for industry in December.

In addition to changes made as a result of the consultation the NHQB has also committed to undertake detailed review work to understand how the Code can be expanded into additional areas and so benefit even more new build customers in the future. Whilst it was not felt that at this stage expanding the Code to cover investor buyers and shared ownership homes for example – as set out in the Building Safety Bill – could be agreed without delaying the introduction of the new arrangements, these are areas that the NHQB will undertake detailed assessment work on as soon as the new arrangements are in place.

The New Homes Quality Code, introduces a broad range of additional requirements for developers. These aim to fill the gaps in current protections and ensure that every aspect of a new home purchase, from when a customer walks into a sales office, through to two years after the purchase of the home is covered.  The Code:

• Protects vulnerable customers, prohibits high pressure selling; requires any deposits the customer pays to their builder to be protected.
• Requires the developer to provide all relevant information about the home during the sales process – including its tenure and any future management or service charges – that allows them to make an informed decision about their purchase.
• Sets out requirements for a fair reservation agreement, including a ‘cooling off’ period; and sales contract requirements.
• Allows customers to have a professional carry out a pre-completion inspection of their home on their behalf.
• Specifies that a home must be ‘complete’, preventing builders paying customers to move into a new home early.
• Crucially, and to address the biggest gap in the existing arrangements, the New Homes Quality Code requires builders to have an effective after care service in place to deal with any issues or ‘snagging’ problems customers have with their new home; and a robust complaints process that responds to customers concerns in a timely manner and to their satisfaction, keeping them informed at set times throughout. If a customer is not satisfied with how any complaint they have made has been dealt with, they can refer their complaint to the independent New Homes Ombudsman Service

The NHQB has worked with a broad range of stakeholders, including the UK Government and the devolved governments in Scotland and Wales to develop its proposals. The NHQB has developed proposals that can broadly align with the relevant sections of the emerging Building Safety Bill but are not identical to it. The ambition is that the new framework, including the NHOS, can be applied across the UK so providing greatly enhanced and consistent consumer protection. Ultimately, it will be up to the Secretary of State to decide how the powers provided by the Bill are used by Government to deliver their stated objectives and that is a separate matter to be decided by them.

The NHQB will oversee all the arrangements moving forward, including the appointment and subsequent ongoing monitoring of a New Homes Ombudsman Service (NHOS).

Underneath the NHQB will sit advisory committees which will include consumer, technical, public authorities and financial services specialists and a code council.

The NHQB will be responsible for publishing data on the performance of the industry; and working with the industry to ensure it is aware of its responsibilities under the new arrangements and in a position to deliver against them. (It is envisaged additional support will be provided for SME builders.) This will include training support to enable developers to be able to train their staff.

A new industry code of practice – the New Homes Quality Code – sits at the centre of the new arrangements. It builds on the existing consumer codes but puts much more responsibility and requirements on developers. In particular it covers post occupation and sets out how developers have to deal with any issues buyers have with their new homes in the first two years.

The NHQB will set up monitoring processes to ensure developers are complying by the requirements of the New Homes Quality Code.

Government has made clear throughout that it expects that all the new arrangements will be paid for by the house building industry. Access to the NHOS will be free to consumers, with access being through a new portal.

The NHQB will charge developers an annual registration fee; whilst there will be a levy charged on every new home built.

There will be an additional fee for developers for certain referrals to the New Homes Ombudsman Service (NHOS).

Exact funding arrangements are being finalised

We will be releasing more information to consumers about how to access the benefits of the New Homes Ombudsman Service (NHOS) in due course, and will publish the New Homes Quality Code in the coming weeks.