Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay has welcomed today’s announcement by Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government that a New Homes Ombudsman will be established.
Commenting, Steve said:
“I am delighted to hear today’s announcement. I have campaigned previously in Parliament for more protections for people who buy houses, including leading a debate in Parliament on the subject and have called for the establishment of an independent Ombudsman to deal with issues that house purchases have with developers.”
“As I have previously highlighted, as it stood, purchasers of a new home, often the biggest purchase you will ever make, have less legal protection available to them than people buying a new mobile phone.”
“This was unacceptable and I am pleased to see the Government has listened to calls from myself and other MPs, as well as the public consultation, and taken this important step to protect home-buyers.”
Commenting Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick MP said:
“No one expects to purchase a poor-quality home or receive poor customer service, and action should be taken against those that do not deliver. That’s why we have announced we will establish a New Homes Ombudsman to protect the rights of homebuyers and hold developers to account when things go wrong – including introducing legislation to require all developers of new build homes to belong to this Ombudsman.”
“We want the New Homes Ombudsman to deliver wider benefits to consumers and drive up improvements in the new build homes sector. This includes building better homes of the highest standards and quality – as well as ensuring new homes are sustainable and fit for the future.”