A report from the Scottish Parliament’s Local Government and Communities Committee has called for homebuyers, and new build homebuyers in particular, to be given greater support when building defects are detected or homes are found to be of a poor build quality.
The Committee has set out in the report a number of improvements that could be made to building regulations and fire safety standards in Scotland.
As part of its recommendations, the Committee also called for a Clerk of Works to become a more “familiar face” on building sites across Scotland. A Clerk of Works is responsible for checking the quality of work on site and acts on behalf of the client.
“It is understandably distressing for homeowners to subsequently discover that their brand new home has serious building defects,” commented Local Government and Communities Committee Convener, Bob Doris MSP. “A new home can be the purchase of a lifetime and that’s why finding any kind of significant issue can be utterly devastating.”
“Our Committee heard directly from homeowners and some said that they discovered their homes did not meet the standards set out in the original building warrant, despite receiving completion certification,” he said. “They then struggled to get these issues rectified.”
“That’s why one of our key recommendations is to give homebuyers much more information on their rights when buying a new build home and what they can do when things go wrong after they have moved in,” he added.
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