Consumer interests
NHBC works to reinforce consumer protection and help the house-building industry to improve customer satisfaction.
NHBC sponsors Shelter's 'Architect in the House' initiative
'Architect in the House' is a unique opportunity for homeowners to discuss design changes to their home with a top RIBA architect. This involves architects nationwide giving up their time for free to offer hour-long consultations to the public, in return for a £40 suggested donation to Shelter.
When considering a builder for your new home or any extension work, we recommend choosing an NHBC Registered builder. NHBC maintains a Register of more than 20,000 builders who are technically and financially vetted, and who agree to comply with NHBC's Rules, and build in accordance with our Technical Standards.
Alternatively, choose a member of another reputable organisation such as the Federation of Master Builders.
Sign up for an Architect in the House.
A one-stop shop for all your architect's needs
Did you know that NHBC can provide your architect with a one-stop shop for all the services needed to comply with current regulatory requirements, including Building Regulations?
As the largest single provider of building control in the UK, and a Corporate Approved Inspector, NHBC provides an alternative to your local authority, offering building control services on any size of project. With a national network of qualified staff, NHBC is involved from the project planning and design stage, and works with your architect to deliver compliant solutions.
Other services provided as part of the one-stop shop include energy ratings (e.g. Energy Performance Certificates), Code for Sustainable Homes assessments and Home Information Packs. NHBC is also the leading provider of Training and Health and Safety services to the new homes sector.
Raising standards
NHBC Standards are the 'bible' for the registered house builder and provide the benchmark for acceptable levels of design, material specification and workmanship for newly-built homes registered with NHBC. They are an essential part of protecting homeowners. It is important that the Standards are amended to give guidance on methods of construction currently being used. NHBC's Standards Committee review such changes, and comprises a range of interested groups, including consumers, professional institutions and house builders.
NHBC employs 280 building inspectors across the UK, who carry out and collect data on around one million inspections at key stages of home construction each year.
Customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction continues to be our priority. NHBC has taken the lead, working with the industry's key trade bodies, on the development of a Consumer Code for house builders, which has been formally recognised by the Office of Fair Trading to increase homeowner confidence. In addition, we have launched NHBC's Task Group on customer satisfaction, which aims to help the industry target improvements in the finished quality of new homes and in builders' after-sales service.
We already undertake extensive customer satisfaction surveys, contacting over 100,000 new home owners in their first year of ownership. The results provide home builders with valuable information on how well they look after their customers once they have moved into their new home.
Treating Customers Fairly
NHBC embraces a culture of fair treatment for customers and takes continuing action to ensure that this is fully understood and embedded within its business. NHBC aims to meet and, where possible, exceed the Financial Services Authority's (FSA) principle of Treating Customers Fairly.
Consumer Committee
Our Consumer Committee ensures that a strong and effective consumer voice is heard throughout the company. Most members of the committee are independent of NHBC, and have wide-ranging expertise in consumer affairs, drawn from their links with consumer interest bodies and enforcement agencies. Brief details are available at Members of the Committee. The committee meets regularly to discuss issues and support research to ensure consumer issues remain high on the agenda. They advise on all NHBC initiatives that impact on homeowners.
Customer Charter
NHBC's Customer Charter demonstrates a clear commitment to putting transparency and openness at the heart of our consumer agenda, and is monitored regularly through market research. Details of NHBC's service levels may be found in the publication NHBC customer charter.