New Homes Quality Board
NHCC is here to help with the The New Homes Quality Board and Code
The New Homes Quality Board published its New Homes Quality Code on 17th December 2021 – the new code of practice for the house building industry aimed at improving quality for new build homes and offering stronger protection for new home customers, particularly in relation to customer care.
NHCC was set up specifically to support New Home Builders, Housing Associations and Build to Rent specialists in the delivery of excellent customer service in the event an issue arises with the homeowner’s new home. Today we are working with developers across the UK, acting in place of, or as an extension to, an in-house customer care team, providing consistently world class customer satisfaction results (NHCC‘s average Net Promoter Score, NPS, between Jan 2019 and Jan 2022 was 95). Whether this is in handling incoming and outgoing calls and emails, or managing and co-ordinating all parties to resolve reported defects, or in the delivery of a professional and independent pre-completion quality report that we call Pre-Handover Inspections, NHCC is here to help. You Build. We Support.
Some key points from The New Homes Quality Code:
- Gives new home buyers the right to have a professional carry out a pre-completion inspection of the home on their behalf (and specifies that a home must be ‘complete’) before legal completion.
- Requires builders to have an effective aftercare service in place – specifically references this can be outsourced – to deal with any issues or “snagging” problems customers have, along with a “robust” complaints process that responds to customers’ concerns in a “timely manner and to their satisfaction”, keeping them informed throughout. It is worth noting that all developers will need to provision for this for a full 2 year period.
- Improved protection for vulnerable customers, requiring new home builders to identify and give additional focus to any purchaser in this group.
- Requires the developer to provide all relevant information about the home during and after the sales process, including its tenure, future management or service charges, and the aftercare and new home warranty arrangements in place, which allows buyers to make an informed decision about their purchase.
Should a customer not be satisfied with how any snagging issue/s or defects reported to the builder or developer has/have been dealt with, they can refer their complaint to the New Homes Ombudsman.
How can NHCC help?
- NHCC is in a strong position to help builders and developers improve the quality of output and remove concerns that may exist around a “pre-completion inspection”. We have inspectors and surveyors covering the UK, already carrying out “Pre-Handover Inspections” (PHIs) for our outsourced customer care clients. These PHIs are typically completed 2-4 weeks prior to legal completion and are designed to highlight any issues/defects that need rectifying ahead of legal completion. We then support the site team to resolve them before legal completion and prior to any professional inspection the new home owner may be permitted to undertake under the New Homes Quality Code.
- NHCC’s main focus is in the delivery of outsourced customer care which is specifically referenced in the New Homes Quality Code for builders and developers. NHCC is adept at managing issues, whether related to “snagging” or defects, that new home buyers can encounter, along with managing a complaints process that responds to customers in a timely manner.
- NHCC’s trained team of customer care professionals has a wealth of experience in looking after and helping vulnerable customers.
Since January 2022 builders and developers have been able to register with the New Homes Quality Board, complete training and ensure they have the necessary aftercare and complaints procedures in place to meet the requirements of the Code. The deadline for mandatory registration with the Board is 31 December 2022.
Please contact us today if you would like to discuss any aspect of how NHCC can support you with your customer care further, or if you would be interested in a pilot of our services ahead of the December 2022 deadline.