The Quality of New Build Homes in the UK

Poor brickwork, faulty plumbing & electrical installations, unfinished decoration.....for many purchasers of new build properties in the UK their dream home quickly turns into a nightmare.

Due to the high demand for homes the government has set an ambitious target of 1 million properties to be built by 2020. Currently there are many factors causing problems which the industry needs to overcome to ensure these targets are met. Labour shortages are crippling the industry with many major housebuilding companies settling for a poor quality workforce to maintain their build completions and financial targets.

This is leaving the consumer with a product which isn’t fit for purpose. Build programmes have been shortened leaving site teams with less time to produce a quality finished product. This problem spans back 10 years to 2008 when the financial crisis hit the UK and had a major impact on the house building industry.

Make sure you are happy with the quality of your new build home before completing your purchase.

Completions dropped overnight and many companies were forced to enter into administration or liquidation. Companies that did survive had to re-structure and make themselves lean. One of the areas many businesses inside the construction sector and outside made cuts was apprenticeships and training. During a period over 5 years companies hired zero or very few apprentices.

Skilled workers all over the UK moved away from construction and entered different sectors which were flourishing I.e car industry. So the government has set targets for homes to be built and house building companies are reporting record profits year on year but we do not have the right quality labour to produce them. In many cases the house builders are handing over poor quality homes which is unacceptable.