Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps he is taking to ensure the adequacy of redress arrangements for consumers when (a) structural and (b) other problems occur with new build homes.

The Government is committed to fixing our broken housing market, to ensure we have a housing market that works for everyone. We expect housing developers to deliver good quality housing, on time, and to treat house buyers fairly.

Where something goes wrong, house builders and warranty providers should fulfil their obligations to put things right, however coverage of the current landscape differs with levels of consumer protection. Where applicable, the industry-led Codes offer protection for the pre and post sales process and consumers can raise an independent dispute where breaches of the code are evident.

Where there are structural concerns, consumers can raise a dispute through their warranty provider. However we know the current system remains fragmented and does not always provide full coverage. We know more needs to be done, which is why, in February, we published the consultation “Strengthening consumer redress in the housing market”. This follows the Secretary of State’s commitment from last November to explore options for improving redress in the housing market.