Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has announced the arrival of a new Homes Ombudsman to protect homebuyers from poor building work and ban rogue developers
The New Homes Ombudsman will help homebuyers with issues from messy brickwork to faulty wiring. It will have statutory powers to award compensation, ban rogue developers from building, and order developers to fix poor building work.
The new Ombudsman will act swiftly to resolve disputes with developers.
New laws will also require all developers to belong to the Ombudsman, giving all homebuyers access to swift redress.
Raise housing standards
As part of the government’s wider ambition to raise the standard of homes across the country, new measures have also been established to make sure all homes sold under the future Help to Buy scheme meet higher standards.
Jenrick said: “It’s completely unacceptable that so many people struggle to get answers when they find issues with their dream new home.
“That’s why the Ombudsman will stop rogue developers getting away with shoddy building work and raise the game of housebuilders across the sector.
“Homebuyers will be able to access help when they need it, so disputes can be resolved faster and people can get the compensation they deserve.”
This news of a new Homes Ombudsman will give people buying a new home the confidence they need that when they get the keys to their home, they are getting the quality they expect.
Build better homes
This is the latest in a series of initiatives introduced by the government to build better homes across the country – including developing a new National Model Design Code, consulting on the Future Homes Standard to tackle climate change, and introducing a new Building Safety Regulator.
Will the New Homes Ombudsman adjudicate on property purchased just over two years ago on the ‘Help to buy scheme’
If so, will defective landscaping be included in his remit?