Your protections: the New Homes Ombudsman and the New Homes Quality Code

Why new build buyers have a code

When you buy a resale home, you buy it as it stands. When you buy a new build, you rely on the builder for far more: accurate sales information, a finished home, and fixing problems after you move in. Consumer codes set out what a builder must do at each of those stages, and give you an independent route to complain if it does not.

There are two main codes for new build homes in the UK:

• The New Homes Quality Code, run by the New Homes Quality Board (NHQB), with complaints going to the New Homes Ombudsman Service.
• The Consumer Code for Home Builders, approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, with complaints going to its Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme.

The Building Safety Act 2022 gives the government power to set up a statutory new homes ombudsman and require every builder to join. Those sections are not yet in force, and the NHQB says there is no set timeframe. So for now, membership of either code is voluntary for builders. In practice, mortgage lenders push builders towards a code: UK Finance's October 2025 warranty guidance says that where a buyer is not protected by a code directly with their builder, lenders typically expect the warranty provider to offer a warranty-linked consumer code.

The New Homes Quality Code

The NHQB is an independent, not-for-profit body. It says its board has a majority of non-industry members, so builders cannot control its decisions. Builders who register agree to follow the Code and to accept the decisions of the New Homes Ombudsman Service. A builder that breaks the Code or ignores the Ombudsman can be referred to a discipline committee, which can fine it, require staff retraining, or remove it from the register.

Which version applies to you

The rules below are from version 2. Version 1 is broadly similar, but read the version that applies to your home.

The 10 principles

The Code starts with 10 principles: fairness, safety, quality, service, responsiveness, transparency, independence, inclusivity, security and compliance. In plain terms, the builder must treat you fairly, build to regulations and a high standard, not use high-pressure selling, run a reliable after-sales and complaints service, be open about tenure and future costs, tell you to use independent legal advisers, support vulnerable customers, have the money to repay deposits and meet Ombudsman awards, and follow the Code.

What the Code gives you, stage by stage

When you are deciding

• Honest marketing. Sales material, including photos, CGIs and video, must not be misleading.
• Key facts up front. The builder must tell you the size of the home (measured to the RICS standard for gross internal area), tenure and lease length, specification and what is not included, indicative energy rating, price, estimated completion date, warranty, service charges, future phases, any restrictions on selling later, and the expected council tax band.
• No pressure selling. No false claims about other buyers or price rises, and no incentives tied to an on-the-spot decision. At time-limited events such as launch weekends, you get seven days to decide with the incentive held open.
• No drip pricing of things you would reasonably expect to be included.
• Your choice of advisers. You do not have to use the builder's recommended solicitor or mortgage broker, and the builder must disclose any commission it gets for recommending one.

When you reserve

• A written reservation agreement in plain language, signed by both sides, with the price, fee, exchange deadline, tenure and costs.
• A 14-day cooling-off period with a full refund of the reservation fee if you cancel for any reason.
• An exchange deadline of at least six weeks after reservation, unless you ask for earlier.
• An affordability schedule of costs tied to the tenure and management of the home for five years, including ground rent and estate or service charges.
• The builder cannot sell your home to anyone else while your reservation is valid.

The reservation to completion guide covers each step in detail.

Before and at completion

• Deposits and fees must be protected, and refunded within 28 days if the contract is cancelled.
• If the builder makes a major change to the size, appearance or value of the home, you can cancel within 14 days and get back everything you paid.
• You have the right to a pre-completion inspection, by you or a qualified inspector, using the NHQB's standard checklist.
• Completion can only happen on a complete home that meets building regulations and has warranty cover.
• At completion you get schedules of incomplete work, a home demonstration, warranty documents and the complaints procedure.

After you move in

• An after-sales service for at least two years after completion.
• Snags must be acknowledged as soon as possible and, in most cases, sorted within 30 days. If there is a good reason for delay, the builder must explain and update you at least monthly.
• If a snag is not put right within 30 days of being reported, you can ask for it to be handled under the formal complaints process.
• If work means you have to move out, the builder must pay for alternative accommodation.

How to check if you are covered

The NHQB says your home is covered if both of these are true:

1. Your builder is on the NHQB's Register of Developers and listed as active.
2. You reserved your home on or after the builder's registration start date.

You can search the register on the NHQB website. If your builder is not listed, is not active, or registered after you reserved, you are not covered by this Code, but the NHQB says you should still be protected by another consumer code. Ask your builder which one.

Some homes are outside the Code even with a registered builder. The NHQB says it does not cover shared ownership homes, other subsidised homes sold by housing providers, or homes bought to rent out or as an investment. It also does not cover homes bought by a company or trust, claims that belong under the structural warranty, personal injury, or falls in value caused by the market. Since 2025 the NHQB has also run a separate Shared Ownership Code for registered shared ownership providers.

How to complain under the Code

Start with your builder. Report the problem through its after-sales service and keep a record of what you reported and when. If you are not happy with the response, make a formal complaint. The Code sets fixed deadlines, counted from the complaint start date (the first business day after the builder receives your complaint):

You can appoint someone to help you, such as a family member, surveyor or solicitor, and the builder must co-operate with them in the same way it would with you.

Going to the New Homes Ombudsman Service

If you cannot agree with your builder, you can refer the complaint to the New Homes Ombudsman Service. The NHQB says this is free for buyers. A complaint that arose within the first two years after completion can be referred once 56 days have passed since the complaint start date, even if that falls after the two-year point. Refer it as soon as you can: the Ombudsman follows its own scheme rules when deciding whether to take a case.

The Ombudsman investigates and can settle the dispute, make a decision or make recommendations. Registered builders have agreed to accept its decisions. Using it is optional: the Code says you can choose to go to court or another ombudsman or regulator instead.

When the warranty is the right route

The Code does not cover claims that should go through the structural warranty. If your problem is a structural defect, or the builder's two-year period has ended, contact your warranty provider. Many warranty providers also run their own dispute service during the builder's period: the builder's path to resolution letter must tell you whether one is open to you. See the new build warranties guide.

The Consumer Code for Home Builders

The Consumer Code for Home Builders applies to builders registered with the warranty providers that adopt it (its dispute scheme names NHBC, Premier Guarantee, LABC Warranty and Checkmate). If your builder is not on the NHQB register, ask whether this is the code that covers your home. It sets its own requirements for builders on selling, reservation and after-sales service, and its dispute scheme covers complaints within the first two years from the start of the warranty cover.

Its Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme is run by an independent dispute resolution provider. You can apply once 56 calendar days have passed since your original complaint, and there is a time limit for applying, which the scheme's own guide sets out. You will need the reference number for your home from the warranty provider. The scheme says the maximum you can claim for homes reserved from 1 January 2024 is £50,000, and it does not handle snagging found after completion.

A checklist for buyers

• Before you reserve, search the NHQB register for the builder's name, or ask which consumer code covers the home.
• Read the Code that applies to you. The NHQB publishes it free, including large print and Welsh versions.
• Keep everything in writing, including what sales staff tell you. Ask your conveyancer to add any spoken promises to the contract before exchange.
• Check the affordability schedule and future phases before you commit.
• Book a pre-completion inspection, and report snags promptly after you move in.
• Track the complaint deadlines. If a builder misses one, note it. After 56 days you can go to the Ombudsman.
• Do not let the clock run out. Raise issues well within two years of completion.

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