Summary
Relevant sections of the New Homes Quality Code
Part 1: Selling a new home
Part 2: Legal documents, information, inspection and completion
Investigation outcome
Complaint upheld. The customer was awarded £1,250 in compensation for distress and inconvenience.
Recommendations for developers
- Clearly highlight planning permissions and future development phases to customers before reservation.
- Ensure planning and legal information is uploaded promptly and actively signposted to customers and their advisers.
Issue
A customer complained that the developer failed to disclose planning permission for additional residential units to be built on the development, including construction directly beneath their flat. The customer said this caused significant disruption after move‑in and prevented them from making a fully informed purchasing decision.
Circumstances
- At the time of reservation, the customer believed all building work on the apartment block had been completed. Later that year, they became aware that planning permission had been granted for three additional apartments, one of which was to be constructed directly beneath their home.
- Planning permission for the additional apartments had been granted before the customer reserved the home. However, this information was not highlighted to the customer before purchase and was only added to the developer’s legal portal several months later. The customer said that had they known about the proposed works, they would have proceeded with the purchase of a different flat within the development.
- Construction beneath the customer’s flat continued for several months. The customer reported noise, vibration, dust, fumes and disturbance, which affected their ability to work from home and enjoy their property.
Ombudsman’s decision
The Ombudsman found that while the reservation and contract documents did not guarantee the final layout of the development, the developer was still required under the New Homes Quality Code (the Code) to provide clear and accurate information about relevant planning permissions and future phases of development.
The Ombudsman concluded that the planning permission for additional apartments, granted several months before reservation, was information a buyer would want to consider. This information was not uploaded to the developer’s portal in a timely way and was not clearly drawn to the customer’s attention. As a result, the customer was unable to make a fully informed decision before purchasing the flat.
Although there was no evidence that the value of the customer’s property had been affected, the Ombudsman found that the lack of transparency caused significant inconvenience, disruption and distress.
Learnings
- In terms of Part 2.6 of the Code, developers should provide the customer with the reference number of the planning consent which applies to the new home and the details of any future building phases for which they have planning consent.
- Uploading documents to a portal alone may not be sufficient to ensure customers are properly informed.
