New Homes Scandal - Rip Off Britain - BBC One - 12th October 2018

The Rip Off Britain team hear from homeowners who say their new-build properties have fallen far short of expectations - and it has not been easy to get their problems resolved.

[@MrClingclong]

I have been a carpenter for 34 years and I have seen these houses being built. I would never buy one or advise anybody to buy one of these houses. Developers in this country are criminals. They know exactly what is happening from the shop floor to the chief executive. Some of the product they push out is of such a poor standard that those responsible should go to prison, preferably not a prison built by them otherwise they could escape through the cracks in the walls. If you want a well-built house, then buy one that was built in the 50's or before.

[@markturner6755]

I have driven past building sites where houses have been left for weeks in the rain with no proper covering on the roofs. Surely this causes dampness to set in.

[@genevielucious4945]

Those builders are ripoffs. Building homes and making massive shortcuts to make more profit. Absolutely shocking.

[@sashiez1]

Soooo unfair, poor woman. All because people cannot do their jobs properly. 😞

[@jonjonesongasstationdickpi6179]

Its so simple to install insulation aswel 😞

[@SW-sz8ji]

LOL NHBC guarantees aren't worth sh*t

[@patsilk9248]

Where are the building inspectors, who should check every stage of the build.

[@Lousy_Bastard]

They are on the take.

[@oneeleven9832]

Theres not many of them & they are poorly paid…i was a site manager in commercial works hardly ever saw them…contacted them at start of projects & they were pretty indifferent about when they wanted to see things…

[@chucks6781]

When i worked for a company that did work for the local council 1 day when installing new drains a distance of 40 foot the council inspector arrived to check that they were correct for run degree angle & not leaking i had just tested the pipework (no leaks) surprised when he asked me what was he supposed to test & look for i explained how to test with drain plugs checking for leaks & he was supposed to check my work typical though of the local council to employ university wallahs another time i asked an inspecter if he had enjoyed his holiday in the bosses holiday bungalow without thinking he said yes then hurried away without checking the job he had come to inspect

[@60yoself-taught]

Who were the builders? Name and shame them!

[@glsmokerUSCOOLHIPHOPCHANNELGMG]

Taylor whimpey

[@scofab]

It's not 'hard to understand exactly went wrong'... these shacks were built like shite by lazy, uncaring builders. The NHBC is either deliberately ignorant, or deliberately complicit. I built my own house here in Japan, and in a much colder climate. Even in winter the sun heats it to a comfortable level during the daytime most days.

[@petertaylor6384]

How much your house cost to build mate?

[@jonjonesongasstationdickpi6179]

A tsunami has unfortunately blown it away

[@johnb8956]

I don’t have much in the way of dealings with the NHBC, but insulation isn’t structural, if the policy only covers structural damage, then it just isn’t covered.

[@oneeleven9832]

It’s fairly easy to document surely why can’t there be photographic evidence of each stage🤷‍♂️

[@Clara-ph7my]

I have never understood new homes being built as 'affordable homes'? How? I couldn't afford the price tag on these new builds let alone then come across these problems. Surely even any movement in a new home should not be seen this quickly. Then the added problem of damp, lack of ventilation and poorly fitted central heating system.

[@stuartfitch7093]

Exactly, the two bedroom, rabbit hutch new builds about a mile from my home start around £140k, they don't even have a driveway, just a parking bay outside. In contrast my 3 bedroom 50s semi cost me £70k. It has a 80ft driveway with two sets of drive gates and a garage at the bottom end. It has a living room over 27ft long and I fill the space with two sets of sofas. When people buy new build they are paying over the odds thinking there will be no jobs on their home but then end up by doing more jobs than an older house because the new build has more problems and often, more serious problems.

[@jonjonesongasstationdickpi6179]

It’s nobodies problem but yourself if you can’t afford it, try harder in life

[@wadefite]

What ever happened to Quality Control?

[@flashman2]

Their is none dude

[@neonskyline1]

New British houses are quite simply bags of shite, we have a house in Poland, the construction is astounding

[@laverdajota8089]

I’m afraid that the uk has been ripped off for years , Cars, alcohol,Houses , land , Employment protection, taxes ,parking , fuel costs , and more , everyone trying to make a killing over the regular guy . It won’t change unless the general public refuse to accept it , and then establishment will come down on them like a tonne of bricks

[@persona250]

I work for a small developer , the finish and workmanship on the houses completed to date is superb . I have first hand experience of the national housebuilders whose standards are atrocious , The problem is greed they want top whack money for the property but will only pay pittance for the labour and materials .

[@samcaldwell7694]

It's all down to the main contractor all they are bothered about is getting the houses build at any cost someone should be signing the trades off if it not right make them re do it it's that easy where is nhbc or building control or site manager something not right

[@laverdajota8089]

I’m not saying that it’s this case, but , one of the biggest problems of damp in houses, is that foolish people dry clothes on radiators or hang up wet clothes to dry on airers in the house , the wet and moisture has to go somewhere, it doesn’t just disappear, unless you open the windows and air your house .Modern sealed buildings are the worst if you do this .NHBC are a complete waste of space and in the pocket of the Builders.

[@johnb8956]

A properly vented house, particularly a new build, should quite easily be able to cope with drying some washing within it

[@elizaann1888]

Should have named and shamed the developers.

[@oneeleven9832]

NHBC are an absolutely pointless body…you need old fashioned Clerk of Works on site they are pains in the backside but they are worth it.

[@JohnSSSSS]

Who the hell is surprised that insulation isn't structural? As if it's load-bearing or something ahahaha.

[@pauladams9472]

Sounds like us here in a david Wilson home ( Nantwich) see you In court (

[@christinedavis5813]

I have had Four new Builds and it only got worse over the years I was hoping things would get better, and I would never Buy a New Build again caused me to nearly have a BreakDown, It should be a criminal Offence, all the snags, and some very serious ones, They take your money, and they do not care and a few of them took delight when I was reduced to tears, I have bought a 20-year-old property now and it is much sturdier and bigger garden wise

[@robertward6813]

I feel really sorry for people that are in this position, its a dam shame. I bet they feed you all the rubbish when you're going through the process of buying the house. I'm definitely buying a piece of land and building a quality house. At least I will have a house that can hold heat and have a bit of land bigger than a posting stamp.

[@jonjonesongasstationdickpi6179]

You ain’t buying shit you peasant

[@robertward6813]

@@jonjonesongasstationdickpi6179 shame I'm in the process at the moment then isn't it lol.

[@paulinmazurek2769]

NHBC , has anyone had any help from these people NO HELP BUILDING COMPLAINTS.

[@amyclarke41]

ok a good porgramme

[@AndrewStrydomBRP]

Insulation over electric cables isn't inherantly unsafe.

[@JohnSSSSS]

"spending thousands to make the property presentable for sale" jesus, so basically just painting over the damp patches rather than actually fixing the insulation and ventilation problems.

[@ElectronicPleasure]

Never buy a new house. they are made to a complete shit standard. If you do the do not buy a house built on flood planes. If it requires a drainage system on the land (those little pond like things) then that means it has water issues and those little pond like systems are havens for rats and rubbish. Buy a house built on solid land, on a hill or plateau where water runs off.

[@BobSmith-ui4qu]

Mold?

[@flashman2]

Never buy off plan

[@Wigucnzzi]

What to do : someone make a company home which is good quality and soild and not crap

[@Chuby123]

Not possible. Big developers hold most of the land and they out bid small companies and use shortcuts in building

[@Wigucnzzi]

@@Chuby123 sad days lol

[@jimdoc6102]

Its an epidemic of greed

[@finenebula]

Just SUE THEM.. what is wrong with people.

[@flashman2]

If you could see behind the walls you would not buy the studded wall construction is shit .I am a plumber/ heating engineer never ever by a new build

[@alifloydtv]

Patsy Stone is a better TV presenter than I'd have expected

[@petertaylor6384]

It's easy to blame the tradesmen.i work on these.house cost 190,000 Anyone want to guess how much money is paid to the carpenter for all the carpentry that goes into a 4 bed house.roof trusses,all studwork,all door frames, skirting, architraves,kitchen fit.guesses please

[@Lousy_Bastard]

No where near 190,000 that's for sure, probably around 5 grand?

[@petertaylor6384]

@@Lousy_Bastard on average 1700 quis

[@petertaylor6384]

Quid

[@Lousy_Bastard]

@@petertaylor6384 That's fucking awful

[@petertaylor6384]

Is what it is.the only way to up the prices, thereby affording the tradesmen more time to a more quality job would be for a mass walkout

[@jimbomcgill2241]

Only an idiot would buy a new build house.

[@mrspp2081]

I see where you are coming from but not everybody is aware of the shoddy work that the new build companies are doing.

[@_J4CK4L_]

You do understand every build was a "new build" one day? So how do you define from what year a new build is a bad new build?

[@takitobutface6805]

they keep saying black, thats racist🤣

[@robtecau4963]

They must have got cheap EU builders to do the work

[@KybalionAlchemy]

the brits are too lazy.. they would rather be on benefits

[@LionKing-bx2ic]

Rob Tecau it's the Brits, not the EU. Lots of newbuilt EU homes(depending where in EU though) are a lot better quality than the newbuilt in Britain

[@MultiJay1968]

Or it could be these companies are employing cheap labour from abroad who don't have a clue in what they are doing as they have not completed/done the proper training !

[@neonskyline1]

You must be fucking joking, i live in Poland, our new build house is astoundingly built, British houses are a bag of shite, our roof structure alone is ten times more substancial than a British home, we have terriva ceilings ffs, if you're given shite to work with you'll end up with shite

[@kgbeezr75]

@@neonskyline1 And your assertion is what? That cheap labor isn't a factor? Cost cutting is comprehensive, it isn't just using sub-par materials.

[@folic4luv28]

Yh blame foreigners. Dickhead

[@GlasgowBhoy]

Always the foreigners? What a fud!!

[@chloe19815]

This is down to the fact the government are trying to build and cram as many people into Britain as they can. Trades on the ground are forced to throw this shit up as quickly as they can. This just makes pride in there work none existent. No one cares anymore