{"id":29729,"date":"2026-06-30T23:45:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T22:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29729"},"modified":"2026-07-01T06:22:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T05:22:29","slug":"93-7-percent-of-new-houses-have-snags","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29729","title":{"rendered":"93.7 Percent of New Houses Have Snags"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Caveat Emptor: 93.7% of New Houses have Snags or bigger Construction Issues.<\/h2>\n<p>Engaging a professional, independent chartered surveyor to advise you before you buy is ever more important, even \u2013 if not especially \u2013 with a new build.<\/p>\n<p><em> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-29683 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/new_build_housin_estate.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"715\" height=\"402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/new_build_housin_estate.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/new_build_housin_estate-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/new_build_housin_estate-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 715px) 85vw, 715px\" \/><\/em><\/p>\n<p>How many thousands of others have rejoiced at being able to buy a house only to find disastrous issues?<\/p>\n<p>The answer is staggering: 93.7%<\/p>\n<p>NHBC and LABC Warranty data shows the average property has between 8\u201315 snags, with some exceeding 100. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bashkal.com\/journal\/minimum-space-standards-for-new-homes\">Bashkal<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/09613218.2023.2253337\">Taylor &amp; Francis Online<\/a>\u00a0 Most snags are cosmetic (such as scratched windows or damaged skirting), but many are not.<\/p>\n<p>We have lost count of the number of telephone calls the PropertySurveying team has taken from people who have issues with their new build houses.\u00a0 We won\u2019t call them \u2018homes\u2019 like the media does because a \u2018home\u2019 is something special hallowed by love, and our callers do not love these houses.\u00a0 In fact, their moods range from incandescent to despairing.<\/p>\n<p>In one instance, the property bordered a ditch, the fence was subsiding into the ditch and the caller had tried endlessly to contact the company that had sold the house, only to find it had gone into liquidation.\u00a0 With the warranty resting with the builder for the first two years after legal completion, there was no way of getting it fixed or obtaining financial redress.<\/p>\n<p>A survey published by the Home Builders Federation&#8217;s own National New Homes Customer Satisfaction Survey in March 2025 revealed that 93.7% of new build buyers reported problems such as snags and defects to their builder since moving in, and over a quarter (26.2%) reported more than 15 snags. This is the industry&#8217;s self-reported data.<\/p>\n<p>In June 2025, an article in the New Statesman explored the &#8220;new-build nightmare&#8221; facing many buyers, where under-regulation, persistent defects, and poor aftercare are leaving purchasers locked in disputes with developers.<\/p>\n<p>What really hurts is having to explain to individual callers the impossibility of achieving a successful outcome for them.\u00a0 The cost of achieving compensation or redress is so punitive and the process so protracted and complex that it makes better financial sense just to pay for the problem(s) to be sorted.<\/p>\n<p>Corroborating this, in 2022, the average sum claimed by home buyers was \u00a35,233 while the average sum awarded was only \u00a3626.78.\u00a0 With membership of the Ombudsman scheme remaining voluntary, access to redress will be incomplete and inconsistent \u2014 creating a clear two-tier system in the new-build market.\u00a0 <em>Statistics drawn from <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.derbyshire.gov.uk\/site-elements\/documents\/pdf\/transport-roads\/roads-traffic\/development-control\/parking-guidance-for-new-developments.pdf\"><em>Derbyshire County Council<\/em><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.centreforcities.org\/reader\/breaking-the-bottlenecks\/minimum-space-standards-for-one-bed-flats\/\"><em>Centre for Cities<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And the figures above are from companies that accept (some) responsibility and for minor defects.\u00a0 There are many, like our caller, whose company had disappeared.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-29699\" src=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/fitting_interior_new.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"340\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/fitting_interior_new.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/fitting_interior_new-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/wp-content\/uploads\/fitting_interior_new-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 85vw, 340px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Statistics show major problems are more rare, but 1 in 10 houses showed issues with compliance breaches such as thermal performance and control of moisture.<\/p>\n<p>To add to concerns, the CMA\u2019s 2024 market study identified persistent concerns about build quality and consumer redress, with existing warranty schemes often providing limited protection, leaving consumers reliant on developer goodwill or complex legal action. <a href=\"https:\/\/hoa.org.uk\/advice\/guides-for-homeowners\/for-owners\/fix-problems-in-a-new-build-home\/\">HomeOwners Alliance<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/parkingstandards.co.uk\/\">Parkingstandards<\/a><\/p>\n<p>As stated above, for two years after legal completion the builder is responsible for defects in workmanship and materials.\u00a0\u00a0 Slow responses here are a frequent issue. For the next 7 years, NHBC provides insurance cover for major structural defects.\u00a0 The problem is that many defects are then classified as &#8220;normal shrinkage&#8221; or &#8220;acceptable workmanship&#8221; rather than warranty failures.\u00a0 This information comes from \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lordslibrary.parliament.uk\/housing-in-england-issues-statistics-and-commentary\/\">House of Lords Library<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/statistics\/housing-supply-net-additional-dwellings-england-2024-to-2025\/housing-supply-net-additional-dwellings-england-2024-to-2025\">GOV.UK<\/a>, showing that the Government is well aware of the problem.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you avoid falling into this trap?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I know, we would say this, but, <strong>employ a professional, independent, chartered surveyor to examine the property.\u00a0 <\/strong>Paying for a Homebuyer\u2019s Report or Acquisition Advice could save you money in the long term and give you peace of mind.<\/p>\n<p>A surveyor is a trained professional who can identify and log potential issues with a property.\u00a0 The initial fee may seem daunting on top of the cost of the property, legal fees, stamp duty, house insurance, a removals company, new furniture and furnishings etc, but it could just end up saving you a fortune \u2013 and a lot of distress.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Caveat Emptor: 93.7% of New Houses have Snags or bigger Construction Issues. Engaging a professional, independent chartered surveyor to advise you before you buy is ever more important, even \u2013 if not especially \u2013 with a new build. How many thousands of others have rejoiced at being able to buy a house only to find &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29729\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;93.7 Percent of New Houses Have Snags&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-page-builder-no-sidebar.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"folder":[],"class_list":["post-29729","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>93.7 Percent of New Houses Have Snags - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propertysurveying.co.uk\/newsletter\/?page_id=29729\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"93.7 Percent of New Houses Have Snags - Property Surveying NEWSLETTER\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Caveat Emptor: 93.7% of New Houses have Snags or bigger Construction Issues. 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