Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to improve the consumer rights of freeholders purchasing new build homes.

It is vital that as housing supply increases, the quality of new build homes continues to improve. In our Housing White paper, published earlier this year, we set out our ambition for a housing market that works for everyone. We expect all housing developers to deliver good quality housing, to deliver it on time, and to treat house buyers fairly.

Where something goes wrong, house builders and warranty providers should fulfil their obligations to put this right. The industry-led Consumer Code for Homebuilders, where applicable, also provides protection to purchasers of new homes.

Last year the All Party Parliamentary Group for Excellence in the Built Environment produced a report called More Homes, Fewer Complaints, which made a series of recommendations to improve quality and redress. One of their recommendations was to establish a New Homes Ombudsman. We are considering this as part of our wider ambition to improve redress arrangements in all parts of the housing market.

We also want to make the homebuying process cheaper, faster and less stressful. In October we launched a call for evidence on the home buying and selling process in order to gather views from industry about areas for improvement, and from the public about parts of the process they find most difficult to navigate.