Help needed for homebuyers states OFT
Officials from the Office of Fair Trading have stated that more help is needed for homebuyers in the UK from house builders. Following an investigation by the OFT, house builders are to set up a new code of conduct to address issues relating to dissatisfied customers. The investigation showed that many home buyers had experienced problems with the property or delays in terms of moving into the property, although it did describe the sector as still being ‘broadly competitive’.
OFT officials went on to state that in some cases the issues and complaints were dealt with and rectified relatively quickly, but in other cases the buyers experienced ’significant detriment, distress and inconvenience’ due to the problems being major ones. This is particularly true if the problems relate to plumbing or heating issues, according to the watchdog.
The investigation also revealed that there were some problems relating to the sales process for new homes. Officials from the OFT said that they had concerns over the clarity of the information being provided to buyers as well as the reservation fees charged. They also claimed that some of the terms and conditions in the contracts were potentially unfair. A number of agencies will be working together to put into place a code of conduct, and this includes the Home Builders Federation, the National House Building Council, and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
An official from the OFT said: ‘We have found the home-building market to be generally competitive, with no evidence that individual homebuilders have the ability to restrict supply in order to inflate prices or to hoard land for anti-competitive reasons. However, we have concluded that homebuyers need more protection when buying a new home and we have worked hard with the industry to help it develop a new approach to self-regulation that will improve consumer protection.’
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