Developers

If you are working with one of our supporting Structural Warranty Bodies and are building New Homes to sell to consumers (i.e. not for commercial entities), you will have to sign an agreement with Consumer Code for New Homes as part of your registration with your Structural Warranty Body.

Our supporting Structural Warranty Bodies have committed to support the Code, and so all eligible developments must be registered with Consumer Code for New Homes. There is no ‘opt out’ option.

If you are selling a New Home to a consumer in the UK, then you meet the criteria of a Developer (i.e. you are a company, partnership or sole trader selling new or converted homes to consumers). If you are also working with one of our Structural Warranty Bodies, you will have to register with the Consumer Code for New Homes, even if you are only selling one unit.

A home is the biggest single purchase most people are likely to make and the Code aims to ensure that all consumer buyers of New Homes have the extra protection of the Code, regardless of the size of the Developer they purchase from.

Your login details and password have been sent to the email address provided by you to your Structural Warranty Body . If this has changed, please contact your Structural Warranty Body so they can amend your records on the Code Member Portal.

If you are having difficulties logging on or using the Portal, please contact us at admin@ccnh.co.uk.

Guidance on how to use the Portal and what information we collect and why is available in the “Member Downloads” area of the Portal.

The Consumer Code for New Homes does set various mandatory requirements for Developers. However, all the requirements in the Code are based on best practice, and if you are building New Homes to sell to consumers in the UK, then you should be doing these already, in one way or another, so they shouldn’t be onerous to comply with.

We have provided considerable guidance, standard templates for policies and various forms that you can use to ensure you comply with the Code. These are all available in the “Member Downloads” area of the Code Member Portal.

Buyers look for reassurance when they buy a New Home, so Code Membership can be a good marketing tool to demonstrate to your Buyers that they will receive a consistently good level of service during the sales process and a high level of After-Sales Care.

If you have any questions or would like advice on Code compliance please do get in touch with us direct – we are more than happy to help you.

Note – The Code conducts Compliance Audits to ensure all are Members are complying, so we would advise that you ensure your procedures meet the Code requirements before your start selling New Homes to consumers. You can use our template procedures and use the various forms and templates provided on the Code Member Portal to help you get started.

If you can’t reach a resolution with a Buyer relating to a Complaint, then the Buyer can elect to raise their Complaint as a formal Dispute and apply to the Code’s Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme (IDRS), which is operated by CEDR.

The IDRS is free for Buyers. Developers will be charged a case fee (which can be reduced if you reach an “early settlement” agreement).

Buyers can access the IDRS if:

– you don’t respond to a Buyer within 20 working days of them making their initial Complaint to you for any reservations made from the 1st January 2024 (or 30 working days for reservations made up to and including the 31st December 2023), or

– after 56 working days has elapsed from them making their initial Complaint to you.

If you reach a ‘deadlock’ position and can’t resolve an issue informally, then the Buyer can also elect to raise their Complaint as a formal Dispute and apply to the IDRS.

The independent Adjudicator’s decision is binding on you as Developer. If a decision is awarded in the Buyer’s favour, you must either pay the financial amount awarded to them, or take the action required by the Adjudicator. If you do not comply, then this will be treated as a disciplinary matter and will be enforced by Consumer Code for New Homes.

Buyers do not tend to make a Dispute formal unless they feel they have genuine cause to do so. The Adjudicator will consider both parties’ submissions and it is not guaranteed that the decision will always be in the Buyer’s favour – it will be decided on a case by case basis considering the facts presented by both the Buyer and the Developer – however as Developer, you must present a response to the Buyer’s Complaint to the IDRS, and the more detail and evidence you can provide, the better to substantiate your position. If you do not present an adequate response within the required timescales, the Adjudicator is likely to find in favour of the Buyer.