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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department has made an estimate of the number of homeowners required to underpin their property due to construction faults within ten years after the date of completion of the purchase of a new home.

The Department does not hold information on the number of new-build homes that suffer structural collapse or require underpinning as a result of construction faults or malpractice by the developer.

Most new build warranties cover damages caused by structural defects for a 10-year term. The terms of warranty should give more detail on what developers would be expected to cover in this timeframe.

Where a homeowner is dissatisfied with the service given, warranty providers should have a clear complaints procedure for warranty holders to follow. This procedure should be followed in the first instance. If the complaint is about a developer in the first two years of warranty cover, providers may offer an alternate dispute resolution service. This may need to be followed as part of the complaints process. If this still does not resolve the issue, the next step would be to refer the case to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) for a decision.