New Build House - not up to standard

debs3693

Hi there i am looking for some advice regarding my recent house purchase.

I bought a new build house which completed at the start of Sept. We were given 14 days notice of completion and when we went to do our snagging 2 days before completion, the house was far from finished to the extent that we could not physically get in some of the rooms due to the number of workmen still working. The heating had not been tested until that date, it leaked and flooded the downstairs. On the day of completion they were still painting and we had to move in with no flooring on the lower floor.

Those initial problems have been sorted but we still have a snagging list with over 120 items on it with one of the major issues being that nearly all the walls need replastering and re-painting and also the fact that we still do not have heating that works on all floors (its a town house). we have a garden that i was told would have a "slight" incline but is in fact steeply sloped towards the house and i fell coming in from work slightly injuring my knee. The house is generally poorly finished.

I have written to the company, setting out all my complaints and setting out chronologically what has happened to date and had a meeting. They confirmed in writing our heating would be fixed by start of Oct and also that they would send us a proposal for dealing with the snagging list but this has not happened.

This has been stressful for me - I have just come out of hospital following an asthma attack and whilst i don't think i can "blame" them, i have no doubt the stress of the situation has contributed to this. My cat has also had to have emergency vet treatment as a result of stress (we have had a constant stream of tradesmen in the house for the first 6 weeks).

I am looking for advice on what i can do next to get this resolved and if anyone knows what legal action i may be able to take. I would like them to fix all the problems, and possibly contribute to vets fees and compensation. Am i being unreasonable?

Sorry for the long mail!

MenstrieBen

Hi,

Well I thought our snagging was painful!

From my experience you are going the right way about it - however your stand next to no chance with getting any compensation out of a builder.

They will get round to fixing things but it may take a while, you also have 2 years to spot problems so don't worry that you have to find everything right away or it won't get done.

I lost count of the number of mornings off I had to take to wait in for trades people who didn't always show up despite the fact they were working on the same site still.

Good luck with it all, one other tip we have found Felliway works well when our cats get stresses (and it is a lot (-50%) cheaper from some of the online suppliers than the chain pet shops - PM me if you want details)

Cheers

Ben

ljcpdc

We had over 300 problems with Redrow back in 2001 in mid-Bucks. The kitchen wasn't installed, the fireplace was leaning against the wall when obviously it was supposed to be fixed etc etc...when we spoke to the lawyer to ensure completion would NOT take place he advised we had to complete otherwise Redrow could sue US.

All the new owners caused a scene as one large group at the Head Office with the local paper present.

We then threatened the Chief Exec as we stormed into her office that we take it to BBC Watchdog & Bricks & Morter of The Times Friday supplement. Security did not know what had hit them. Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio 2 may be interested too.

We had waited about 10 mths to get to that stage as all promises by Redrow were empty.

Hope this helps - might be worth seeking advice from the CAB or a solicitor?

Airwolf1

I'd write to the Chief Exec at the company's registered office (get the address from companies house or just google it) giving them 10 days to respond and start works, Contact the National Fed of Builders too.