Council looks out for new home buyers - NHBC's latest figures show 11 per cent increase in completion of deals

The National House Building Council this week launched its latest measures aimed at increasing insurance and regulatory protection for new home buyers.

The extension is the latest part of a three stage internal review by the NHBC that is expected to take nine months to complete.

The change in policy includes an extension to the warranty for all new homes since 1 April to cover damage to the external envelope of a home in addition to the usual insurance covering internal, structural load bearing parts of the home.

The NHBC has also produced a customer service charter which sets out standards for communicating with home owners when they have to make a claim under the NHBC warranty or use the companies conciliation service to resolve a dispute with a builder.

Imitiaz Farookhi, NHBC's chief executive, said: "NHBC is committed to raising housebuilding standards and to ensuring that the industry meets the reasonable expectations of new home buyers." He went on to stress how much he was "looking forward to consulting with other regulatory, consumer and industry groups."

The NHBC warranty and consumer protection systems currently cover 1.7 million purchasers and owners of new homes in the UK.

The April figures from NHBC show an 11 per cent increase on the completion of house deals in comparison to the same period last year with a 24 per cent increase in applications.