Overview: Builders and buyers – the great divide

All those buyers of brand-new homes who have had no choice but to move into a badly finished property now have somewhere to turn. Yesterday, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) imposed rules that mean buyers will not have to occupy a property that is not ready. Unless the new home passes a final warranty inspection, the CML will not pay completion money to the solicitor.

In the past, buyers who found themselves living in a new home with problems had their misery compounded by the knowledge that the builder was in receipt of the full sale price. In future, if the snags are numerous or serious enough a warranty will be refused until the work is done.

Increasing numbers of Britons now buy a new home off-plan. But some buyers find that when they measure the glossy marketing campaign against the final product, it is not only late but unfinished

Expectations are understandably high – after all, they are paying a premium for being the first into a home that should be in perfect running order. If it is not, the developer can hardly expect much in the way of understanding, whatever his problems.

Nevertheless, a picture of the hazards facing even large housebuilders is at the very least interesting and suggests why a first-class product is so rare.

John Brown, a senior director with DTZ Residential in Scotland, gives an explanation that we are unlikely to hear in a marketing suite. "There is a serious shortage of skilled workers, many of whom were lost to the trade in the last recession. All the work is now sub-contracted out and specialist workers can pick the highest bidder. Many won't work for a tough builder and a site agent is left with difficult choices. If he insists on work being re-done or materials sent back, what does that do to his timetable?"

Brown does not regard this as an excuse, but the reality is that such problems are bound to affect the customer. A builder who values his reputation should put himself in the position of the buyer. "If a builder believes he is top class, why not take only 98 per cent of the price and retain two per cent for a year against any problems? That would give buyers confidence."

He also points out that enthusiasm for more complicated one-off designs and high-density developments mean that builders are often learning as they go – far trickier than in the days when the same house pattern was being repeated ad nauseam on a pleasant greenfield site.

All this suggests a need for far better customer care, since buyers who are kept well-informed tend to accept setbacks more readily. Sometimes, however, the public is its own worst enemy. DTZ organises meetings early on for purchasers so that they understand the construction timetable, yet apparently large numbers never bother to turn up. John Brown is not the first to wonder why some people seem better informed about their holiday than their new home.