Shelter proposes penalties for poor house building

Charity Shelter has has called for contractors to face penalties for poor housing construction after research showed half of new build homebuyers faced major problems with their properties.

In a report titled New Civic Housebuilding, Shelter states the current housebuilding system is “failing” families by producing high-priced, poor-quality homes.

It said: “Construction contracts for homes on new civic housebuilding schemes can be highly detailed, specifying the materials and construction techniques to be used, if that is what the plan requires.

“Alternatively, as is often the case for custom-build schemes, contracts can give the builder discretion as to how the homes are designed and built – within the overall constraints of the masterplan.

“In either case, the emphasis of the contract must be on the build quality – with penalties for contractors that do not deliver.”

In a survey of 4,000 people conducted by YouGov alongside the report, more than half of 241 homeowners questioned (51%) whose house was less than 10 years old said they had experienced major problems with their homes, including construction issues, unfinished fittings and faults with utilities. 

Out of the households surveyed, 45% disagreed with the statement that new homes are built to a higher standard than older homes.

Shelter interim chief executive Graeme Brown said: “The only way to fix our ever-growing housing crisis is for the government to champion a bold new approach that responds to communities to build the genuinely affordable, beautiful homes they want – as we have done as a country in the past.”

Housebuilder Bovis Homes recently announced it would be slowing its construction programme by up to 15% this year to boost overall build quality.

This followed the group admitting customer service standards “fell significantly” during 2016 and a wave of complaints about homes sold unfinished and with electrical and plumbing faults. Angry homeowners formed a Facebook group with some accusing Bovis of pressuring them to move in to incomplete houses to hit sales targets.

The company has set aside £7m to cover remedial work and compensation for affected customers along with other measures to improve service, including a review of production process and strengthening its operational capability.

Bovis Homes has become the highest-profile case of poor workmanship in the house building sector. In the summer an All-Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment highlighted the extent of the problem and the difficulties consumers were facing getting problems fixed. It called on the government to appoint an ombudsman. Construction Manager has also highlighted the problems around quality.