Complaints about new homes tripled. What it means if you own one

What did the new figures actually say?

The New Homes Ombudsman Service is the free redress scheme that decides complaints between buyers of new build homes and the developers who sold them. Its 2025/26 annual report, covered across the property trade press on 7 September 2026, shows the scheme handling far more work than the year before.

Defects and snagging were the issues raised most often by consumers in both years. More than 65% of new homes sold in the UK are now covered by the scheme, up from a smaller share the year before, so part of the rise reflects wider coverage rather than a sudden collapse in build quality. The share of decisions going the homeowner's way still moved up, which tells you the complaints being brought are landing.

A rise in complaints is not only bad news. It usually means more owners know the scheme exists, and that they are being heard when they use it.

Does a new build warranty pass to my buyer?

A new home warranty is an insurance-backed policy on the building, not a personal contract with you. NHBC Buildmark, the most common one, normally runs for ten years: the first two years are the builder's responsibility to put defects right, backed by NHBC's resolution service, and the remaining eight years are insurance cover against physical damage caused by a failure to build to NHBC standards.

Because the policy sits on the property, the unexpired years transfer to the next owner when you sell. A buyer looking at a four-year-old house is buying six years of remaining cover, and their lender will want to see the certificate. A small number of protections are limited to the first owner, including deposit protection against builder insolvency before completion, so do not promise a buyer that every element carries over.

Can my buyer take over a complaint I have already made?

Treat that as no. The Ombudsman scheme is built around the person who bought the home from a registered developer, and complaints have to relate to issues arising within two years of your reservation or completion date, whichever is later. A later buyer did not buy from the developer, so the practical move is to get a defect logged, escalated and resolved while the home is still yours.

• Complain to the developer first and keep the correspondence.
• The Ombudsman can look at a case at least 56 days after you first complained to the developer, and within 12 months of the developer's final closure letter.
• Where a complaint is upheld in full or in part, the Ombudsman can award compensation up to £75,000.
• Check whether your developer is on the New Homes Quality Board register before you rely on the scheme at all.

Do I have to tell a buyer about unresolved snagging?

Yes, and it is easier than most sellers expect. The property information form asks direct questions about the condition of the home and about disputes and complaints, and your answers form part of the contract. A live warranty claim or an open developer complaint is exactly the sort of thing a buyer's solicitor will ask about, and it is far cheaper to disclose it than to have it surface after exchange.

Disclosure is also a selling point when the paperwork is tidy.

A folder holding the warranty certificate, the snagging list, the developer's written responses and the dates work was completed turns a vague worry into a closed item. Buyers do not price uncertainty kindly. They price it at the worst number they can imagine.

What should I do before putting a new build on the market?

1. Find the warranty certificate and note the exact expiry date, because that is the number a buyer's solicitor will ask for.
2. Write out every outstanding defect, with the date you first reported it and the developer's reply.
3. Push open items to a written conclusion now, while you are still the owner and still inside your complaint window.
4. Get the developer's sign-off in writing for anything already fixed, so the buyer sees a closed file rather than a claim.
5. Gather the estate management or service charge paperwork if your estate has a private roads or open spaces arrangement, since that is a common late-stage question.
6. Ask more than one local agent what unresolved snagging does to the price in your area before you set an asking price.

What does this mean if I am buying a new build?

What should I take from all of this?

A new build with a snagging history is not a difficult home to sell. It is a home that needs its paperwork closed before it goes on the market. Sort the file first, price it on what a local agent who knows the estate tells you, and the defect stops being the story of your sale.

ValuQ gives UK homeowners free, side-by-side property valuations from competing local estate agents, so you can see what several agents in your area think your home is worth, and how each would market it, on one screen before you speak to anyone.