About National House Building Council
The National House Building Council (NHBC) is a standard-setting body and provider of warranty and insurance for new homes. It works with the house-building industry to raise the standards of new homes and provide protection for homebuyers.If a customer has just bought a brand new home, it is likely that they have a 10-year warranty and insurance cover from NHBC. The cover is split into two periods:
• Damage or defects to the home which occur during the first 2 years from the date of legal completion
• Damage to specified parts of the home (the structural elements), in years 3 to 10.
The cover comes with the house rather than the homeowner. That means that if they sell the house within the 10 year period, the cover transfers to the new owner.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) regulate the NHBC. Its insurance reserves exceed £1.4 billion, so customers can rely on its financial strength and the protection given by the NHBC’s new home warranty. It also has a document called NHBC Standards which sets the benchmark for design, material specification and workmanship for new homes. Its priority is homeowner satisfaction and it worked with others in the industry to produce the Consumer Code for Home Builders which aims to ensure that builders treat new home buyers fairly and know what levels of service to expect. The Consumer Code offers a dispute resolution scheme, where homebuyers can refer a dispute to an independent body if they think that a builder has failed to meet the requirements of the Code.
Only NHBC registered builders are able to offer their customers the comprehensive warranties that NHBC offers. Member builders can also access the full UK standards for construction and conversion online, so customers can feel confident that the builders can keep themselves up to date with the latest standards.
