A developer’s obligations do not end when a customer becomes the owner of a new home. Developers must provide an after-sales service and a complaints procedure.
Customers have two years from the date of the reservation or completion (whichever is later) to make a complaint under the complaints procedure and to refer the complaint to the Ombudsman if they are not happy with the outcome. If developers arrange for a third party to provide their after-sales service, the developer will still be responsible for providing the complaints procedure and keeping to this code.
3.1 After-sales service
When a developer sells a new home, they must give the customer a full and accessible after-sales service for at least two years following the date of completion.
To make sure the customer understands how to access the after-sales service, the developer must give them suitable information about the service, including the following.
- A clear written statement of their after-sales service procedure.
- An explanation of the developer’s responsibility for putting right any issues or problems (including snags and defects) that arise in the property during the first two years. The customer should identify any issues or problems (including snags and defects) and report them to the developer as soon as possible so that the developer can meet their responsibilities.
- An explanation of how the developer will manage any issues or problems and service calls. This explanation should include timescales for dealing with problems, details of how the customer should report any problems and the names and contact information of the people they should report them to.
- Details of how the customer can make a formal complaint about any issue or problem (including snags and defects) if they are not happy with how the developer proposes to deal with it.
- An explanation of the process for reporting and dealing with emergency issues, including details of what qualifies as an emergency issue and how the developer will deal with them. (Emergency issues include matters relating to health and safety that could seriously affect a person’s health and well-being or cause injury or loss of life.)
- Clear guidance on what is considered to be normal maintenance which the customer is responsible for.
If building work will continue on the development after the customer buys the new home, the developer must tell the customer about the health and safety precautions they must take while living there and the measures the developer has put in place to protect them.
3.2 After-sales issues and complaints
The developer must have a system and procedures for receiving and dealing with any issues or problems the customer raises about the after-sales service. This applies in addition to the customer’s right to make a formal complaint under the code.
The developer must give the customer a written statement of the process for raising an issue or problem they have with the after-sales service, as well as the process for making a formal complaint. The developer can provide the written statement in a letter, brochure or leaflet or by email, or they can provide it clearly on their website.
The information the customer receives must include details of how to refer the complaint or dispute to the New Homes Ombudsman Service if they cannot reach an agreement with the developer as to how to resolve the matter.
Customers have two years from the date of the reservation or completion (whichever is later) to make a complaint under the complaints procedure and to refer the complaint to the Ombudsman if they are not happy with the outcome.
The developer must co-operate with any appropriately qualified professional adviser the customer appoints to help settle a complaint before it becomes a dispute. The developer must provide the same level of co-operation to anyone authorised by the customer to represent them (for example, a family member, friend or professional adviser) as they would to the customer, as long as they keep to their data-protection, confidentiality and health and safety processes.
3.3 Snags
It is widely acknowledged that there are usually some finishing or other issues which need putting right after moving into a new home, and these are commonly known as ‘snags’ or ‘snagging issues’.
After completion, developers are expected to work with their customers to identify and put right any snags.
The developer must make sure that snags are covered by the after-sales service and are dealt with as soon as possible.
The developer must acknowledge any snags, issues or problems raised through the after-sales service as soon as possible. In most situations the developer should be able to settle an after-sales issue or problem within 30 days, unless there is a significant reason for a delay. If there is a delay, the developer should explain clearly to the customer the reasons for this, and should give them updates at least once a month until the matter is settled. If the customer is not satisfied with the after-sales service, they can make a formal complaint under the developer’s complaints procedure.
To avoid doubt, emergency issues are not snags and if the customer is not satisfied with how these are dealt with, they can make a formal complaint from the date of completion.
3.4 Complaints procedure
The customer can make a formal complaint under the developer’s complaints procedure if they are not satisfied with the outcome of an issue or problem they have raised in connection with the obligations under:
Part 1: Selling a new home;
Part 2: Legal documents, information, inspection and completion; or
Part 3: After-sales service, complaints and the New Homes Ombudsman.
The developer’s complaints procedure must include the following steps (as a minimum).
- Written acknowledgement: no later than five days from the first business day after receiving the complaint (the complaint start date), the developer will send the customer a written acknowledgement of the complaint.
- Path to resolution letter: no later than 10 days from the complaint start date, the developer will send the customer a written ‘path to resolution’ which outlines how they will investigate the complaint. This will include telling the customer whether they can refer the complaint to a dispute resolution service that is offered by their warranty provider, if they are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaints procedure.
- Complaint assessment and response letter: no later than 30 days from the complaint start date, the developer will send the customer a complaint assessment and response letter.
The complaint assessment and response letter must include the following information.- Details of and a seperate report on each compaint.
- If a complaint has been settled, what action has been taken to do this.
- If a complaint has not been settled, and the developer needs more time to look into the matter, an estimate of how long they will need to each a decision and a breif explanation as to what further steps are needed and why.
- If a complaint has not been settled but the developer accepts that they need to carry out correction work, details of what that work will be and an estimate of when it will be completed.
- If further investigation or correction work is needed, when the developer will give the customer an update (which must be within 28 days).
- If the developer does not accept a complaint, a clear explanation of the reasons for the decision.
- Information about any dispute resolution service, offered by the warranty provider, that the customer can refer the complaint to.
- How the customer can refer the complaint to the New Homes Ombudsman Service.
- Eight-week (56-day) letter: if the complaint is not closed, and no later than 56 calendar days from the complaint start date, the developer will send the customer an eight-week letter.
The eight-week letter must include the following information.
- A clear summary of what action has been taken to date.
- Clear details of what is still outstanding, a reason why and the actions to be taken.
- An idea of when the complaint will be settled.
- How often the developer will give the customer updates (which must be at least every 28 days).
- Closure letter: the developer can send a closure letter to the customer at any stage after the complaint start date
The closure letter must include the following.- A list of the items agreed in the complaint assessment and response letter and confirmation that each item has been resolved.
- Information about how to refer matters to the New Homes Ombudsman Service if the customer is not satisfied.
To avoid doubt, the developer can choose to combine a number of complaints into a single complaint, but the timeline will apply from the date they received the first complaint.
3.5 Referrals to the New Homes Ombudsman Service
If any defects or snags are not dealt with in line with the developer’s complaints procedure, the customer can refer a dispute to the New Homes Ombudsman Service.
In line with established best practice, a complaint that arose within the first two years after the date of completion can be referred to the New Homes Ombudsman Service after 56 days of the complaint start date, whether or not the date the customer refers the complaint to the New Homes Ombudsman Service is within the first two years after completion.
However, the customer should refer the complaint to the New Homes Ombudsman Service as soon as possible. The New Homes Ombudsman Service will follow its scheme rules when deciding whether to look into the complaint.
The developer must co-operate with any request from the New Homes Ombudsman Service to provide all relevant information about a complaint a customer has asked them to review.
3.6 Resale
If the customer sells the new home, the after-sales service provided by the developer applies only to after-sales matters reported within two years of the completion date of the original purchase of the new home. Any potential future owners should get legal advice about this.