NHBC Reviews 494

A new build home that was sold with multiple defects - both serious and minor. Also some safety issues
In addition to the developer (Taylor Wimpey) and the Shared ownership company (SAGE Homes) failing to pick up any of these defects -this report is aimed at the NHBC
They had a dual inspection regime on this property. As an insurance inspector and as a building inspector.
In my opinion they also totally failed in their duty of care by failing to spot any of these defects. I have ascertained that the NHBC now allow contractors to submit photos via an app which seems to be replacing actual site visits. I think this may allow unscrupulous builders to get away with things. I have requested some compensation as the house was so bad - unsafe- and not fit to live in (no hot water for over a month) but they have refused. Our local MP is now involved as well. Lets hope she can get some answers and results. So BEWARE- the NHBC is not -in my opinion - protecting your home as well as you may believe. If you do buy a property I would suggest you ask them for copies of their reports and findings before signing up . Very disappointed with the NHBC

The NHBC is a waste of time their only a insurance policy for the house builder if you have problems with a new build that they have passed off they will do nothing they say speak to the builder who does bugger all I will never by a new build again it’s a big con from them all from the builder the sales rep to NHBC

I had a fantastic experience with NHBC, namely Tonica Okyere who couldn't have been more helpful in helping me find an archived NHBC form. I'm extremely grateful to her for a swift and efficient service. She might have saved a property chain with her speed!

Thank you!

What is the new homes regulator doing. The whole purpose of the appointment was to avoid the issues being described on this invaluable web site.

I had a claim running with NHBC for over 12 years. Fortunately I had the experience and expertise to fight our claim, but we had to take it to the ombudsman (who ruled for us). NHBC had to do the remedial work twice as the first time they made the defects worse.

The second set of remedial work was better, but if I had not watched every move, we would have ended up with work not in compliance with building regs!

The new building regulator needs to start reviewing and engaging with people that have been wronged. All we did was buy a new house! Caveat Emptor cannot apply with new houses as we can’t monitor the work.

It about time the government started to protect owners and to get things changed.

NHBC: don't waste your time, just get the issues resolved yourself by a reputable tradesman & then take the developer & the NHBC to court for recompense - at least then you know the defect is rectified correctly & these idiots have yet another black mark against them & a poor Trustpilot rating; one of many!

Despite having a mission statement which emphasises improving things for Home Owners, the NHBC in my experience and apparently in many others as well, according to the reviews, is only operating for the support of Home Builders. I feel consumers are badly gaslit around this, and essentially walked into a massive trap. The girls working at the NHBC will be really caring, and lure you into feeling safe in their hands, and as if they are someone you can turn to for support. Then they had you over to Claims Handlers who are in close regular contact with Home Builders, and do exactly what the Home Builders want. A lot of NHBC salaries and commissions are paid for by Home Builders, so the entire system is flawed. It is rigged. They even deliberately tried to mislead me they could help me with something to stop me taking legal action against the home builder. Later, when I turned to them for help with the same thing, that all went down the drain, and they sat in ambiguity deliberately in order to avoid accountability. Both the NHBC and the Home Builders will use each other to avoid accountability. Its an unspoken agreement which is awful, and ultimately screws the consumer over every time. I raised a formal Complaint with the NHBC after an NHBC Resolution Report, and that was more of the same. Trying to stop me from reaching any actual support. They will become angry with you for trying to do anything to empower yourself, they expect to have absolute control over you, your life, and your happiness, and your home, just like the home builders. It is not a nice industry at all, and all the people working there are complicit. I actually feel worse to the NHBC, than to the criminal home builder I bought from, because the NHBC gained my trust, only to betray me in the most dirty ways. They seemed all too entertained by watching my absolute distress where things escalated for me and got 100 times worse, because I believed they might be able to help. I tried to show them what went on, how criminal the home builder was/is, and instead things just got dangerous for me, as in my safety and life was in danger, and I learnt the NHBC knew everything already. They distance themselves when faced with 3rd parties looking at this, but behind closed doors, they know everything already, I am not telling them anything they do not already know. That realisation was mortifying to me. They continue to rate these home builders 5 stars. They have enabled institutional abuse, and the worst kinds of home builders, and it is in absolute opposition with their own policies. Their statements about what they are there for are for lip service. Make no mistake, you are alone, with the home builder, and the NHBC are not there for you at all. I wasted a huge amount of time on the phone with them. They prolonged my stress a lot, instead of alleviating anything. They produced a report which had obviously had direct input from the home builder. And they continue to shove down your throat, they are an independent body. If they were an independent body, how come so many people on here do not feel that way at all? The industry needs an entire rebuilding if you ask me from the ground up. It is absolutely not independent, and the NHBC are there to protect the Home Builders, not the Home Buyers. That's the reality, despite the denial of this coming from the industry. I am not alone in this experience. By the time, you are reaching out to the NHBC, you are already in a bad situation, already vulnerable. You will be preyed on, and your vulnerability exploited. It's a complete failure of the system, and those they are meant to protect. Devastating experience that will forever damage and change how much I trust organisations and institutions that proclaim to be there for you. If you need to use them, they will help will small things, but if you have anything big like I did, good luck. I suggest legal action is the only route. These organisations cannot be relied upon. The industry is deeply flawed and rigged against the consumer.

Had several claims. Driveway sink hole was one with the drains having issues. They admitted there are defects and poor work but said it doesn’t meet requirements due to cost of repair I can’t claim off the builder as they collapsed. So left with repairs to pay for and the roof. Due to poor work. NHBC signed off the property so I’m going to hold them responsible. NHBC not worth the paper it’s written on

Feel totally let down, shocked and quite frankly insulted. I have had two separate officers to my property, Mr Hind and Mr Collins and on both occasions they have tried to pull the wool over. As a result, my property is left looking like a total discrace due to the builder Jones Homes. I have a garden wall that will inevitably collapse in the near future because it has been that badly constructed. They have used different colours of mortar to patch up which has made the house unsaleable. Mortar on garden wall is literally eroding in vast areas and can be scraped off with just a finger. They are totally biased and will favour the builder every time. Judging by the reviews, this looks common practice and there seems to be a major issue and concern with how this company can provide legitimate warranties. I will be seeking help from local and national MPs going forward and will fight this for the next 20 years if I need to. Disgraceful!!

A policy that's not worth the paper it's written on! The inspector who came to our house was full of promise and smiles. Told us everything we wanted to hear to our face and then failed to deliver on any of it. Promised to phone, didn't! Promised to give us lot's of options to fight against the builder, didn't. Really isn't worth having a policy with this company.

This company only care about the developers and as a new home buyer they couldnt care less. They passed a house off that had hundreds of snags. Was incorrectly wired and had fire risks. All they care about is the developer who keeps their company running. My advice will be to seek legal advice if any issues with your new build home as the nhbc will not care. Its in their interest to sign off any house regardless of condition. Their certificate is not even worth the piece of paper its written on to cover their own backs as they are obviously taking a huge backhander from developers.

All these regulatory are big SPAM organization in UK as they by default find reasons to support the builder only and do not help. I have been told "the gap to the edge of the deck is within the acceptable limit of 100mm, and the balcony is performing as intended." Seriously, how can you have 10cm gap tolerance level for high rise building balconies? Where is safety & security? Do not buy new build as all the builders and these authorities are just there to extract money by selling high priced flats & houses!

I worked as a property inspector at Southern Housing Group for many years. We asked officials from NHBC to look at a problem with a block of flats where the balconies were leaking and letting rain water to get inside the flats. We assumed that this would be covered by the NHBC cover. They came out to meet me to do a joint inspection only to tell me that NHBC cover didn't cover flat roofs or balconies! Anyone with knowledge of buildings knows that flat roofs and balconies are the most common things that are likely to leak. The fact that neither of these defects were covered by NHBC speaks volumes...

We bought a house that was 3 years old, originally built by Strata, and noticed a leak coming through the faux chimney whenever it rained. This caused multiple damp patches in our spare room. Since we were out of warranty with Strata and it was a structural fault, we contacted NHBC for help. From start to finish, their service was excellent. Communication was good, they explained all our options, arranged the scaffolding and fixed the leak. They even redecorated the room afterwards! We couldn’t be happier with the support we received.

We purchased a property in August 2025, built in 2021. The NHBC guarantee is still current.
After two weeks in the property we returned from holiday to discover a vertical tile had fallen from the property.
Having checked our NHBC guarantee it appeared that these tiles were covered and so we started the claims process.
We were shocked when this was dismissed, as it didn't let water into the property.
We challenged this, sent photos and were then given a quotation for the cost and told it did not meet the minimum claim value.
We engaged our own roofer, who advised that there was a further broken tile and several others misaligned, which we should return to the NHBC with details.
NHBC again dismissed this and only added another £50 to the quotation, still keeping it below the minimum claim value.
We complained and asked that somebody at least come and survey the roof, particularly as another tile had since fallen.
They didn't do so and just dismissed the claim again.
Today we gave the go ahead to a private roofer to start the work, not wanting further stress with NHBC. He advised that one of the broken tiles had just been stuck on, using mastic, so was clearly broken at the build stage.
I would imagine, in the future, we will have further tiles fall and again this all adds up in the cost to ourselves.
Shocking how NHBC can just wash their hands of this.
Development Quarter Jack Park, Wimborne, Dorset.

Totally scam, making non sense answers to cover builder mistakes.

NHBC feels like a scam to trick you buy new built house. they seems won't accept any claim anyway and you are always on your own as developers / builders are their clients.

Steve, our site manager was great. Any issues we had were quickly resolved.

I've lived here 8 years. I've reported drainage issues since lockdown. They're still not resolved. David Wilson Homes tried to wash their hands of this. They're still faulty from your build. Palmed off to NHBC.

Thus I now wish to escalate to an official complaint. NHBC just keep opening new claims which command £1500 excess costs. Costs due to David Wilsons ineptitude with the build. A build I was told had "extra checks" due to being initially shared ownership. This house is an absolute shambles. I've had the pleasure of smelling raw sewage for the best part of half a decade. A house that was NEVER fit for purpose. Still isn't. I don't want to publicise this online but I am at my absolutely wits end living here. I detest this faulty, vile, poorly built house and I now must demand repair before I take it further.

The excess doesn't even remotely cover the costs to destroy my garden- a garden I had to pay out for because your builders placed bottles of urine and breeze blocks into the ground of so no grass could grow (you know this happened as neighbours reported the same and had a heart attack over). Do you want the breakdown of my mental health/worse on your hands? As someone with ADHD, this is not longer livable and I cannot cope.

Would you like to live in a house that you couldn't use your toilet? That stank of raw sewage 24/7?

NHBC confirmed that the mortar in my home did not meet their standards, but the remedial works they accepted from the builder did not appear to fully comply. When I made a Stage Three complaint, the same person who had signed off my Building Control certificate was assigned to investigate, which I felt was a conflict of interest.
I have also noticed that NHBC have since downgraded some of their own standards, and it appears they are applying their 2025 version to my complaint. My home was built before this, and I believe the 2019 Building Regulations and NHBC standards should apply instead.
NHBC provide the warranty and have also signed off the building control certificate for my home.
These inconsistencies have left me feeling that the process lacked independence and clarity, and I was told by the person investigating my complaint that I could not escalate my complaint to building control regulations authority as they only deal with houses built after 2024 and that the previous body handling complaints cease to exist.

So who handles the complaints and investigations into this?

As a homeowner who pays for this service, I am very disappointed

A dry verge unit fell from my property in only moderate winds. Official records show the maximum gust was 48 mph — well below the Met Office’s definition of a storm.

On inspecting the damaged verge unit, I found it was fixed with screws instead of nails, directly against the manufacturer’s installation instructions. The manufacturer’s guidance is clear: these units must be nailed.

NHBC Technical Standards 2022 – Chapter 7.2 (Pitched Roofs), clauses 7.2.17 and 7.2.19 state that all proprietary systems must be installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. NHBC’s own website confirms that all products must be suitable for their intended purpose and installed following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Despite this, my within-two-year claim to Walker Group (Springfield) was dismissed as “storm damage” — even though the wind speed did not meet the Met Office’s threshold for a storm. NHBC then refused to uphold my complaint, ignoring the evidence of non-compliant installation.

To make matters worse, all other properties on the development (and nearby developments) have the first verge unit secured, but my home — and 15 others — have a mix of secured and unsecured units. This inconsistency is being ignored, despite the safety risk.

Both Walker Group and NHBC refuse to comment on the non-compliance or take remedial action. I can only assume that the cost of fixing 16 homes runs into tens of thousands of pounds, which may explain their unwillingness to act.

If this is how NHBC and certain builders handle clear breaches of their own standards, homeowners should be extremely cautious about relying on them for protection.