Solicitors & Estate Agents

The Consumer Code for New Homes, approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, has been established to ensure that best practice is followed by registered Developers in respect of the marketing & selling of New Homes to consumers. The Code also sets expected standards for after sales customer care service.

It has been established to be of maximum benefit to consumers and its ultimate aim is to provide a genuine commitment to consumers, to improving standards of construction and raise customer service standards in the New Homes market, recognising that part of that commitment is providing consumers with a voice and a clear complaints process when things simply don’t go according to plan when they buy a New Home.

The Code applies to all Developers registered with the Code and establishes mandatory requirements that all Developers must meet. Developers must adopt the standards of good practice, procedures, and information in the Developer Guidance to meet each Requirement, unless they take a different approach to satisfying the Requirements. If they take such a different approach, they must provide a similar level of information and achieve a similar outcome to what the Guidance says.

The Code is underpinned by an Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme operated through CEDR Limited. This deals with Disputes that are raised with the Developer from the Reservation date until two years after the date of Legal Completion.

The Code also benefits second and subsequent Buyers of the New Home but only in respect of after sales matters reported to the Developer within two years of the date of the Legal Completion of the original New Home purchase.