Call to protect new home buyers

Many people buying new homes face delays in moving in, while others are left with problems such as faulty wiring, badly fitting doors and leaking windows, the National Consumer Council (NCC) said.

But it warned that outdated laws were not geared up to help homeowners get these problems put right. The group is calling for a radical shake-up of the way the new-build housing market is regulated to ensure that homeowners get the protection they need.

Carl Belgrove, of the NCC, said: "Buying a house is probably one of the most expensive investments a person will ever make, yet people have more rights when they buy a kettle.

"Late completion can be a nightmare for many families as they find themselves out of pocket, paying rent and storing furniture, while they wait to move into their new home. Others face a battle to sort out snagging problems. With the Government planning to build three million new homes it's vital that measures are put in place now to protect homeowners of the future."

The NCC's report, which comes in response to a study by the Office of Fair Trading into new-build housing, found that consumer satisfaction with new homes was declining. Around 29% of new-build property developments are now deemed to be of poor quality, and one in four buyers would not recommend their house builder to a friend.

Recent mergers have also cut the number of house builders and developers, reducing both choice and competition. At the same time, the group found that many homebuyers were receiving poor after-sales care. The average new home has 100 problems which need fixing, and new homes take time to "settle in", meaning that many problems do not become apparent until later.

A spokesman for the Department of Communities and Local Government said: "The Government takes design and construction quality seriously and believes that both are essential to the creation and maintenance of places where people want to live and work, and which will stand the test of time."

Meanwhile, house price growth picked up during August with the cost of the average home in the UK rising by 0.6%, figures have showed.

The rise, which was well up on the previous month's increase of 0.1%, pushed average house prices up to £183,898, according to Nationwide Building Society. But the annual rate of house price inflation continued to slow during the month, dropping slightly to 9.6%, down from 9.9% for the year to the end of July, further contributing to growing evidence that the market is coming off the boil.