Orbit Homes has become one of the first housing associations to register with the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB)
The NHQB is an independent not-for-profit body that was established to develop a new framework to oversee reforms in the quality of new homes and the customer service provided by developers.
From this, the NHQB developed the new industry code of practice – the New Homes Quality Code – which ensures that every aspect of a new home purchase is covered, from when a customer walks into a sales office through to two years after the purchase of the home.
The framework was introduced in 2022 and has delivered a step change in developer behaviour, a consistently high standard of new home quality and service, and strengthened redress for the purchasers of new-build homes where these high standards are not achieved.
What does the New Homes Quality Code (NHQC) cover?
- Protects vulnerable customers
- Requires the developer to provide all relevant information about the home during the sales process
- Gives customers a 14-day cooling off period after reservation
- Sets out requirements for a fair reservation agreement
- Allows customers to have a professional carry out a pre-completion inspection of their home
- Specifies that a home must be ‘complete’ before the customer moves in
- Requires builders to have an effective aftercare service in place to deal with ‘snagging’ issues
More than 100 developers, including many of the largest developers responsible for upwards of 60% of all new homes across the country, are formally registered to work with the NHQB.
However, membership is voluntary and provides house developers with a platform to showcase their quality and customer service credentials.
Helen Moore, group director of Orbit Homes, said: “We’re proud to announce that Orbit Homes is one of the first housing associations to have registered with the New Homes Quality Board. This is another step in our commitment to providing an excellent service and experience for our customers, and follows our recent win at the WhatHouse? Awards, where we were crowned ‘Housing Association of the Year’.
“Although initially the new Code only applies to our market sale customers, in line with our commitment to offering a tenure blind approach to the design and specification of our homes and our sales process, we are adhering to the principles of the Code for our shared ownership customers too.”
Steven Bishop, head of customer satisfaction at Orbit Homes, added: “We undertook an extensive review of our processes to ensure we can deliver on the NHQB’s principles, and hosted internal workshops across our regions to enable teams to learn more about the new Code, and how it can support and enhance our customers’ experience. Over the next few months, we will be working with all our customer care, sales, site, and contracts teams to fully embed the Code and its principles.”
Rob Brighouse, chairman of the NHQB, commented: “The New Homes Quality Code sets high standards for the housebuilding industry, and we are delighted to welcome Orbit Homes as one of the first housing associations to register with the New Homes Quality Board. By signing up to the Code, Orbit has made its commitment to providing an excellent service and experience for its customers clear, and we look forward to working with them to embed the Code’s principles as part of our mission to drive-up standards across the industry.”
