Complaints over UK new-build home defects triple amid calls for mandatory ombudsman

The short version

• Complaints submitted to the voluntary New Homes Ombudsman Service reached over 1,800 in 2025-26, more than tripling from the previous year.
• Residents across the UK report being forced to leave newly constructed properties due to structural defects, collapsing ceilings, damp, and mold.
• The existing voluntary dispute scheme excludes shared-ownership properties, build-to-rent developments, and roughly one-third of all newly constructed homes.
• Housing Secretary Angela Rayner stated the UK government plans to create a mandatory ombudsman once parliamentary time allows.

Key facts

• The New Homes Ombudsman Service received just over 1,800 complaints regarding defects and snagging in the 2025-26 period, up from under 600 in the prior year.[BBC News]
• The voluntary ombudsman scheme excludes shared-ownership homes, build-to-rent flats, and approximately one-third of newly built homes that have not registered.[BBC News]
• Housing Secretary Angela Rayner confirmed plans to establish a statutory ombudsman as soon as parliamentary time permits.[BBC News]
• The Home Builders Federation voiced support for a statutory ombudsman but called on the government to lessen regulatory, tax, and policy burdens affecting development viability.[BBC News]
• At The Fold complex in Croydon, landlord Legal & General paid displaced tenants an average of £8,500 in compensation while undertaking extensive repairs.[BBC News]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• Families move out of 'nightmare' new-build homes plagued by defects, damp and mouldBBC News - Top Stories