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Complaint against new home builder

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Hello everyone,

 

I'm going to make this a very generic post without any reference to any specific companies. I am simply looking for some advice/guidance.

 

I bought my first property which is a new build home and moved in back in November with my partner and 3 girls. Since moving in, there has been constant ongoing work outside the house to create a private road and entrance to a nearby park. This is all work that was never made clear to us when we first reserved the plot. We knew about the private road and park entrance but weren't aware that 3 months after moving in, we would still have diggers/tractors/machinery outside the house all day every day. This is likely to continue for a couple more months too. We assumed that this would all be done prior to moving in, considering we reserved with 6 months until completion, I thought this was an understandable assumption.

 

My youngest daughter has cerebral palsy and has a very irregular sleeping pattern. some nights she sleeps through, others she doesn't sleep at all and sleeps during the day. Due to the noise, she can't sleep during the day now which is unfair on her and messing with her health. I work from home and can't get on and off the drive at free will due to the machinery. This has resulted in having to park away from the house and walk down the private road where the works are ongoing. Due to my daughters sleeping issues, my partner also has sleepless nights and can also not catch up on sleep during the day. Finally, my other 2 daughters who are a little older have no freedom to go out and play due to the machinery and it not being safe to do so without us.

 

I have submitted a complaint as I think this breaches the rules and regulations around the information we should have received prior to reservation/purchase. We should have been informed of the works and to be honest, if we had been, we would have waited until another of the plots was done where there wouldn't be ongoing work.

 

What I wasn't to know is, do I have a case here? - Does this sound like a breach/mis-selling case? and if so, what do I have a right to? - I haven't lost out financially as a result of this but it's incredibly annoying to have to put up with. Im in the back of the house now and can hear them banging away outside. The house prices were the same regardless of whether we bought this plot or waited for the next ones. Why should I pay the same as everyone else but I have to endure potentially 6 months of ongoing work/stress/inconvenience and others would have none of that for the same price?

 

I just want to know where I stand so I don't end up getting shafted by them. I know there are Solicitors on here but not sure what everyone specialises in. If someone could pass on some advice, I would be greatful. Additionally if this is something someone could deal with from a legal point of view, I would be more than willing to talk to you. I'm sure the home builder will want to do as little as possible to make this go away and I don't want to be walked over.

 

Please PM me if anyone would prefer to talk offline.

 

Thanks in advance.

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Hi,

 

I'm afraid it's not something that you could do much about. It's sadly part of the new build process, when a builder is building a new development. They have to finish the estate to its final standard so that it's safe to use for pedestrians etc. It's a matter of what the priority is, and finishing the estate has to be priority one.

 

Our estate took three years from start to completion if I remember correctly.

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Andy,

 

Thanks for the reply. I see your point but this is slightly different in that the home we choose is situated on a private road where there are only 6 homes. we still don't even have access to our drive at all times. There isn't a road. Paths have only just been laid and now the real work on the park entrance has only just begun meaning further disruption. I accept work must continue on the remaining houses but no one explained there would be diggers outside my front door for several months after moving in.

 

As mentioned in my initial post. This is affecting my daughter and partners ability to sleep during the day which is in turn messing with their health. Surely if you find yourself in a position where one piece of information would have caused the decision to not proceed with a purchase, that means a vital piece of information has been ignored and therefore that would constitute mis-selling?

 

Maybe I am just looking at this with a very simplistic view

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Maybe you need to return to the solicitor who acted for you on your purchase (and who should know what contractual obligations bind the developer) for definitive advice.

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Thanks Jeffrey. I've just fired over a quick email to the person that dealt with it all. Hopefully they come back with something useful.

 

The fact that the home builder is sending someone out to see me in person tells me they must think I have grounds for a complaint. Surely they don't send someone out to see everyone in person who makes a complaint? - This person who is coming out to see me is surely the one who is going to try and smooth it over quickly for the builder with no cost or loss to them. if they thought my complaint was a load of rubbish, surely they would have responded and told me that.

 

 

Maybe you need to return to the solicitor who acted for you on your purchase (and who should know what contractual obligations bind the developer) for definitive advice.

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I suppose it depends what you are trying to achieve. The work clearly has to be done so you will have difficulty stopping it. By the description of the works it seems they are full on so it is being completed as quickly as possible?

 

Are you wanting to get your money back so you can find another house where your child's life is not being disrupted?

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This is the problem. I dont know what i want to achieve from it all. If i had a choice, i would rewind time and not buy the house. I feel like ive been ripped off by not being given a vital piece of information which would have affected my decision to buy. The works are in full swing and have been for 3 months and will be for furthers weeks/months. That doesnt mean its not affecting my family and my ability to work in peace at home.

 

Surely this is a piece of information that is key at the buying stage. We wouldnt have bought this plot if we knew. Who in their right mind would buy a plot with this level of disruption when the next batch of homes are completing at the same time and all work will be done by the time the buyers move in.

 

This has been done purely to maximise profits and i feel i am losing out in order to increase their profits. Why should i not be able to access my own drive? Why should my childs school bus not be able to access our road to pick her up? Absolutely none of this was mentioned during the buying process. Surely that constitutes a breach. I dont know what i want out of this but i dont want them to get away with taking the **** like this.

 

Thanks

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You couldnt pay me to live on a new build estate, in my opinion they are poor quality and a complete rip off !

 

I used to build them for big companys so have first hand experience on them !

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Well if it's any consolation you are feeling like most people would in that situation.

The solution lies between you and the developer not through courts/solicitors in my opinion.

In court they would argue on the lines of, "building/construction work is to be expected on a building site"

The fact is, they allowed people to move in too soon (to get the money in the bank)

Are the other people on the street of the same opinion? you would have more clout with others on board.

 

I think the best you can hope for is a bit of a sweetener from the developer, but sadly no relief until the work is complete.

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What do you expect on a new build where building isn't complete ?

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Not sure if you've read my last post or not but building is complete. The private road with 6 houses have all now finished and everyone has moved in. This was all done back in November. I is now March and we still don't have a road.

 

My issue is with the ongoing work outside my house which was never mentioned at the point of sale. Is it wrong to assume I would have perfect access to the house I have spent a substantial amount of money on? - Would you not assume that if your house was on a newly built private road, that the road would be there to use and access your house at all times? - Would you not be annoyed if it's raining and you have to park your car a few hundred metres from your house as access has been closed for work?

 

As we decided on a new build, I knew there would be ongoing work to other houses and plots. They can't throw 100 houses up on the same day, I'm not an idiot. What I didn't expect was to have issues getting to my own house, the safety of my children outside of it whilst heavy machinery is operating and also the ability for a little peace and quiet during the day. IF they are working on the other houses which are next to complete, we don't hear a thing. We only hear them when they are right outside the house which is a daily occurrence at the moment.

 

 

What do you expect on a new build where building isn't complete ?

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Awwww yes I see I didn't read it correctly sorry.

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