David Wilson Homes

[DavidWilsonWarning]

Hey all, just a word of warning! We bought a DWH new house August 2022. On the back of the dining area is what DWH call a 'pod', it's like a square walk-in bay. Very poor design, flat roof, no guttering. We now have water coming through the ceiling in the pod, and DWH do not want to know and suggest NHBC warranty won't cover it.
So it'll be down to us to pay roofers to come out regardless of the reason. God knows what it will cost if it all needs renewing.

It's likely to be that the canopy is cracked - over two years old so tough luck, or the mastic is perished which is apparently often the case. So tough luck.

Honestly, we only bought a new build to have some maintenance free years...

Ah, that's bad luck. We're in a DW newbuild that's about 15 years old and it's been fine but you do hear some horror stories. Have you checked your buildings insurance?

@DavidWilsonWarning if you can be bothered, keep on at DWH, on all SM. Go as high as you can up their ‘food chain’ cos this is unacceptable. In the short term, can you see where the water’s coming in from outside or above? Check your NHBC warranty too, though they really are pretty worthless. Good luck!

It happens. Massive pain for you, but I know of at least two people who have had the same issue with Miller. Both were within the 2 year period so got it fixed for nothing though. You have lived there almost 2.5 years I guess, you have to expect some maintenance will crop up (and I say that as a fellow new-build owner).

@CarterBeatsTheDevil no we haven't, but we will!

@owlexpress well yes, but we expected the envelope of the building to be watertight for longer than that. Even the very old properties we've previously owned have held up better than this.

Whichever way it's dealt with, we'll probably not buy new again, certainly not from David Wilson!

Everyone’s house was once a new build. Depends on the developer. Since David Wilson are part of Barratt, now incorporating other developers, they’re just too big.

Snagging happens with any new build, although this is obviously more than snagging. It happens with refurbishments, new kitchens, new bathrooms, any kind of house maintenance.

In this case, if you aren’t getting anywhere with DW, presumably you have a ten year NHBC warranty. I’d be getting in touch with them.

Would you have a word with your local Trading Standards? I don't see how a building that is only two or so years old should be leaking or why the builder shouldn't be liable for remedying that. Buying a house isn't like a pair of shoes that might well wear out and leak after two plus years of regular wear.

A house is supposed to last for many years. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 goods should be of satisfactory quality and be fit for purpose. Consumers' reasonable expectations should also apply. Reasonably enough I didn't expect my house to leak after two years and as is normal and expected, it still hasn't, even after thirty years. In my opinion, a new house that leaks isn't of satisfactory quality and requires a remedy of some sort.

The Act doesn't dictate what you and a supplier agree in a contract but it does specify certain unfair contract terms which would be in breach of your consumer rights. If you sign a contract that says the builder isn't responsible after two years, would that be an unfair contract term under the Act? Check that out with Trading Standards - also whether the Act applies to house building. And if it does, when you've informed yourself, quote consumer rights and the relevant criteria in the Act at the builder.

We have the same pod on our David Wilson home which we moved into 8 years ago and fortunately we've never had a problem with it. We did have other issues though and we were just relentless with David Wilson until they came and sorted it