Following the Government’s announcement on the creation of the new homes ombudsman, Brian Berry, chief executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) gives his thoughts on what this means for the industry.
The new homes ombudsman announced on February 24 is a regulatory body designed to tackle shoddy building work and help homebuyers with its statutory powers to award compensation, ban rogue developers from building and order developers to fix poor building work.
It will provide a clear route for purchasers of newly built homes to complain when things have gone wrong and provide effective redress through alternative dispute resolution, avoiding the need to go to court.
Brian said: “This announcement is a step in the right direction for consumers and house builders alike. As the FMB had demanded, it is correct that the new homes ombudsman will be backed up by law. We are pleased that the Government has recognised that the new system must not be burdensome to small and medium-sized (SME) house builders. If we are to meet the Government’s target of building one million homes over the next five years, SME builders must be encouraged to play their part. The details of this sensible step are still to be worked out, and the SME building industry must be central in the process as the funding, standards, and delivery model are decided upon. Any new consumer code must also ensure that all new homes are covered by the highest-rated insurance companies.
“While welcome, the drive towards ensuring quality for the consumer cannot be fully achieved without an industry-wide adoption of a licensing scheme. So long as any company is legally allowed to undertake construction work in the UK without having to demonstrate a minimum level of competence, homeowners will remain at risk from rogue builders and poor service, leading to the sorts of complaints that the new homes ombudsman has been established to address.”
