Housebuilders lose NHBC say

by John d'Arcy



The National House-Building Council has agreed a series of constitutional changes which, it says, will "strengthen the NHBC's independence of any particular interest group in housebuilding."

The housing watchdog denies that it is distancing itself from the housebuilders.

However, the changes will:

l Remove the automatic nomination rights of housebuilders and mortgage lenders to appointment to the NHBC board.

l Remove the right of the House Builders Federation to nominate the chairmen of the finance committe and the standards committee.

l Establish a new consumer committee with a status equivalent to the finance and standards committee.

Sir Michael Pickard, NHBC chairman, said: "The NHBC is an independent regulator. That means we must not only act independently but be seen to be independent.

"These changes are not about distancing the NHBC from housebuilders but about legitimising the relationship. Housebuilder involvement at every level of the NHBC is not about vested interest, it is integral to what we do. The NHBC without builders would be like the AA without mechanics."