ST's DWH home from hell

[Tony]

Forum for ST's story and to provide advice:

David Wilson Homes from Hell

[Jamie Irvine]

I would like to apologise on behalf of the company for the late responses to your most recent communications. A meeting has now been arranged at your property on Monday 15 May to carry out a full inspection of the matters highlighted in your correspondence and to put together an action plan to satisfactorily remedy remaining problems.

Sorry once again for the delays.

Jamie Irvine
Managing Director
David Wilson Homes
Scotland

[Tony]

Sandy asked me to post this:

We have now received a letter from the builder outlining the remaining snagging items and they require access for around a week from Monday 26th June. They have agreed to examine the slope in the hall floor, lift part of the en-suite floor to correct the slope and lift part of our 2nd bedroom floor to look for any weakness that may account for the noise transmission form the ground floor property. The other 57 or so items are to be rectified at the same time. We are pleased with the outcome of our meeting with the Managing Director and Customer Service Manager and hope this round of works will see and end to our saga.

'We have now received a letter from the builder outlining the remaining snagging items and they require access for around a week from Monday 26th June. They have agreed to examine the slope in the hall floor, lift part of the en-suite floor to correct the slope and lift part of our 2nd bedroom floor to look for any weakness that may account for the noise transmission from the ground floor property. The other 57 or so items are to be rectified at the same time. We are pleased with the outcome of our meeting with the Managing Director and Customer Service Manager and hope this round of works will see and end to our saga.'

The underlined words in the quote above are worrying. Given that the completion certificate has not been issued and the fact that it appears to be overdue I fear that DWH may try to pull a fast one here.

In Scotland the building warrant is valid for 3 years which starts from the date of issue or any other agreed date by the enforcing authority, not the date of purchase, and is concluded by the issue of the Completion Certificate. If the works exceed the warrant period an extension to the period must be applied for otherwise the applicant, and ultimately the owner, commits an offence. The enforcing authority may allow some give and take but there is only so much the law can be bent.

If an owner requests snagging work to be carried out, the builder agrees in outline and the owner allows the work to go ahead then unfortunately the owner has just shot themself in the foot in that if any thing goes wrong the builder can walk away. The NHBC and your local authority will confirm that this is the case. All the responsibility has been transfered to the owner simply because they said 'go ahead'. If there are no drawings, specifications or method statements in place for the snagging works then the owner doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Some may think it is unreasonable to ask for drawings, specifications and method statements to fix a light switch. However the owner is well within their rights to ask for this information when the snagging works include plumbing, electricity, gas, water, structural faults and the like. In other words anything which could have a serious impact on the integrity of the property.

The aim of all house builders is to transfer responsibility under the relevant Building Acts as soon as possible so that they can walk away and enjoy your money at the earliest possible stage. Developers do this all the time and it is not just individual owners who suffer. Ask your local authority how many times they have to carry out repairs on new developments after they have been adopted. Prepare to be shocked!

Remember the Completion Certificate in no way guarantees quality of workmanship or even that the property has been constructed in accordance with the relevant regulations. The Scottish Executive issued guidance on this way back in 1994 because so many people were wrongly thinking this. They also stressed that the owner should employ suitable qualified professionals to check that the work is being carried out correctly. Please also note that your insurer doesn't cover faulty workmanship. The NHBC are the builders insurer whose premiums are paid for by the housebuyers. It is not in the NHBC's interest to upset the builders because they will go elsewhere to get their insurance. If you ever get involved in the NHBC's Resolution Service keep your eyes wide open and you will see just how cosy, and vile, the whole set up is.

In Scotland the owner is ultimately responsible for everything to do with the property. This is very clearly set out in the Building (Scotland) Act. If any builder tells you this is not the case then they are lying through their teeth and are setting you up for what could be a very costly experience. So be wary of kind intentions - it is you who will pay.

[Chris Bond]

I have found that AfterBuild and David Wilson Homes have been reasonably good at sorting out the snagging. Although they are being done gradually they have all been done (except one) to my satisfaction. It seems to be just a case of making sure that any snag is brought to their attention asap and then just keeping in contact with them.