AIBU - new build houses are AWFUL

[hooplahooper]

I am currently living in a BRAND NEW Bellway home - renting while I renovate my childhood home. I was excited to live in something new enough to be zero maintenance while dealing with my own big Reno project...

But holy HELL it's been an awful eye opener for me. I've lived in 11 houses across three countries as an adult - 5 of which I have owned + sold - and I have never come across such bad build quality before. Some of the (many) entry level issues (which the landlord has repeatedly
flagged with the builder to no avail) include:

• The walls aren't plastered, just painted plaster board - so zero internal sound insulation,
• the tiling is wonky in all rooms
• the windows don't seal,
• half the doors don't catch on the hinges without considered effort.
• the laminate kitchen counters aren't sealed at any joints
• the front door hinges are loose
• the electric car charge point doesn't turn on
• The stair railings aren't secure
• there is black mould everywhere from a leak (now stopped, but mould not attended to)

I'fe lived in new builds before overseas - I know there are always snags, but everything about this house feels like corners are cut + quality is compromised.

I'd let it go - I don't really care for me, I'm moving into my own home in 8 weeks - but I'm raging on behalf of my lovely + hard working neighbours here - who have got enormous mortgages on these poor quality structures.

I posted about it on my personal stories and have heard all sorts of even worse horror stories about new builds by Baratt Home, Persimmon + Taylor Wimpey as well. It seems universal that these huge developers are building low quality, parasitic dormitory towns on (often) greenbelt lane - and making astronomical profits from them (650m for Bellway last year..!)

With such gigantic profits - they could be building better quality homes if they wanted to. But they don't. And the government is clearly so caught up in meeting housing targets they are turning a blind eye.

I am RAGING. I am grateful I don't have to live here forever - and furious on behalf of the millions of people that deserve so much more.

YABU - let it go, they're not so bad you terrible snob. People are happy with their homes + can make their own judgements

YANBU - hard working people deserve more + there has to be a way of holding these big companies accountable for prioritising profit over quality homes

Absolutely agree! Really poor workmanship

On the fence really. I'm in a new build and have luckily only had minor issues but I do know that loads haven't been so lucky.

Some are and some aren't. My friend bought a new build a few years ago it's absolutely gorgeous and she hasn't had any issues.

100% agree. Our last place was brand new new build and there were multiple problems. Everything just very obviously done the absolute cheapest way possible.

Never again.

YABU for classifying them all as awful based on your one experience.

It really depends on the house builder

Ours is great and our snagging list was all really minor issues, which they put right as soon as we asked

You get what you pay for (usually)

I think it depends where you are and who your developer is. I have friends who live in new builds and have never had issues. But I follow one of those new build inspectors on tiktok who talks you through all the snags on his jobs and some are just appalling!!

some developers just seem to throw them up as quick as possible and corners are cut as a result.

Also in a lot of parts of the country new builds can be one of the only ways to get on the ladder for some so I appreciate some people don’t have a choice.

Not all of them are awful. We’ve bought two new builds in the last ten years, a Bellway and a David Wilson. Both times been lucky to only had cosmetic issues, which were all fixed under the two year warranty. We hired professional snaggers to draw up a list of issues.

I don’t live in a new build but have been in many where we live. From my limited knowledge it seems if you get some built by a local builder they can be very nice, spacious and well thought out. But the national builders just put down hundreds of houses without much care gone into them and it’s these ones which struggle.

yanbu
shame that building regs & inspections are not enforced. no one can tell me that all is above board with defects like you list.

where is the council/trading standards?

self building is almost impossible with land hogging developers & mortgage products not set up for it.

I mean YANBU about Bellway - they're known for shoddy constructions!

There's lots of builders out there doing much nicer + better quality new builds imo.

YANBU at all and I've worked for a company who carried out site inspections on new build estates. Some of the construction is shocking. Cost cutting all the way, shoddy workmanship. It was rare to find a decent build, hand on heart. A recent (very expensive) new build estate had turf laid directly over rubble in gardens.

I live in a new build house. It's finished to a very high standard and all the fittings are top spec.

You get what you pay for and im
Very happy with mine.

I'd never chose any other type of house.

I am not in the market for a house of any sort, my own is fine, but is there no minimum build standard required these days? I'm thinking A ratings and so on, insulation, solar panels, heat pumps.

OK I realise those things are expensive so even if a person buys a property without the bells and whistles surely there is a minimum for building regs? We need one for certain structural house renovations so that's why I'm thinking like this.

I own a barratts BTL flat. The build quality is appalling - the whole block (about 300 flats) is terrible and always has something wrong with it. I have no idea how it got past building control it’s that bad!

Regional developers can build some really spectacular homes. I live in one built by a regional developer but have been lucky.

Part of my job is looking at numbers of new builds getting built out on new developments. Some developers churn out hundreds in the same period of time others barely manage 20. You can tell which is which. I live in a new build that I love (having lived in period properties and listed buildings before it's amazing having nothing to do) but there are some developers I wouldn't touch with a barge pole

They’re awful, ugly, depressing. The ghettos of the future.

You seriously bought a Bellway home. Do you not know their reputation?

YANBU the workmanship of most is shoddy

What really annoys me is that some old constructions can't be mortgaged yet looked after normally will last well and have already in most instances lasted 75 years! Yet these sell for more and can be mortgaged to the hilt

She is renting. Says so on line two

Totally agree regional / smaller scale developers can build beautiful homes - nothing against new buildings at all. It's the huge scale developers profiteering on the housing crisis!

They ARE. There are 6 big developments I have identified near us - none of them with significant public transport or amenities... people deserve so much more.

Oh no - I'm renting while I renovate. I am FURIOUS on behalf of people who have no option but to buy one to get on the housing ladder. People deserve so so much more.