Frequently asked questions

We are the UK’s leading independent provider of warranty and insurance for new-build homes. Our purpose is to raise standards in house building by championing high-quality homes and protecting homeowners.  We do this through training and quality services and directly insuring new homes registered with us.

NHBC is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. NHBC is registered in England and Wales under company number 00320784. NHBC’s registered address is NHBC House, Davy Avenue, Knowlhill, Milton Keynes, MK5 8FP.

The NHBC Standards include:

• Technical Requirements (referred to as the 'NHBC requirements' in the NHBC warranty and insurance policy booklet for your home)
• Performance Standards
• Guidance

Technical Requirements are mandatory. Builders are required to comply with them when building new homes that have NHBC cover. You can view them here.

Performance Standards and Guidance are not mandatory.  They are provided to builders to give them technical information and to demonstrate ways to comply with the Technical Requirements.  Guidance is based on standard construction procedures and recommended practices that have proven satisfactory over time.  If you wish to see them, they can be viewed here.

Normally, if a builder meets the Performance Standards and correctly applies the Guidance, they will meet the Technical Requirements. Although the Technical Requirements may also be met by other means.

Your NHBC warranty and insurance policy provides cover for homes that do not meet the Technical Requirements (subject to policy terms and exclusions). If you make a claim on the policy (or request our resolution service) our Claims team will use the Technical Requirements, along with other criteria, to assess your claim.  Where necessary our Claims team may refer to the Performance Standards and Guidance to help explain their decision on your claim or under our resolution service. If they do, they will usually provide you with the relevant extract from the NHBC Standards.

You can check our builder register here to see if your builder is registered with us or to find NHBC registered builders in your area.

If you are buying a newly-built home you may need cover such as Buildmark in order to secure a mortgage and release funds.

If you are buying a newly-converted property your lender may not require you to have such cover, however, buying a property with Buildmark cover will give you some protection if problems arise in the future. Please note that sometimes on conversion properties we add exclusions to the cover - these will be printed on your insurance certificate.

You should have received your Buildmark policy documents from your solicitor or conveyancer upon legal completion.

If you have not yet received your policy documents, please email ccsupport@nhbc.co.uk, quoting your name, address, postcode and NHBC Buildmark policy number if available.

If your policy has not been previously activated by your Solicitor, you will need to send in an official copy of your Land registry document, or your signed and dated TP1.

Alternatively, please call 0344 633 1000, press 0 and say 'Duplicate Documents'.

Please visit this page Your Buildmark Cover for information about the warranty and insurance cover provided by Buildmark.

Yes. Typically, for a new build property, the total amount we will pay for all claims after legal completion is the original purchase price up to £1,000,000. Please refer to your policy document for more information.

Note: The insured value may have been increased above these limits in special circumstances. Please refer to your Buildmark certificate and schedule, or contact our Customer Services team for further information.

The limits are increased on each anniversary of the completion date by 5% of the original limit. We then deduct amounts we have paid or have to pay for claims we have accepted (please check your Buildmark policy documents and booklet).

If you want to find out about your financial limit, please email ccsupport@nhbc.co.uk quoting your name, address and postcode or call 0344 633 1000, press 0 and say 'Customer Services'.

NHBC registered builders and developers apply and pay for Buildmark when they register their building plots with NHBC.

Can't find your policy document?

If you know your policy number you can download a copy of your policy booklet here.

Please note: If you’re unable to find your policy prefix (e.g. AJ, AE, XA or other) on the page or you don’t know your policy number then please contact our Customer Services team to obtain your policy booklet.

If you are unable to find your policy booklet inline, please email ccsupport@nhbc.co.uk quoting your name, address and postcode or call 0344 633 1000, press 0 and say 'Customer Services'.

If you are the first owner of the home, Buildmark gives you protection from exchange of contracts, until the end of the policy, which is typically 10 years from the start date shown on the insurance certificate.

If you sell the home, the remaining cover passes to the new owner.

This remaining cover means both the balance of the 10 years post-completion, and also any available financial limit. Any claims made may have reduced, either partially or wholly, the financial limit available for future owners.

If you are not sure if your property is covered by an NHBC warranty, please email us at cssupport@nhbc.co.uk, with your full name, address, postcode and a daytime telephone number, and we will let you know.

Alternatively, please call us on 0344 633 1000, press 0 and say 'Customer Services'.

Please see the 'Problem with my home, need to make a claim page' here to see how best we can help you.

If you’re buying a new-build home, the Buildmark policy must be accepted by the policyholder. Your conveyancer can accept the Buildmark policy on your behalf via our online NHBC Conveyancing Portal, so we can issue your Buildmark insurance certificate. Your conveyancer will be able to provide you with a copy.

Your Buildmark policy doesn’t provide cover for any alterations or extensions to your home, or for any damage or problems caused by the work.

To avoid problems, it’s important that any building work is carried out carefully by competent contractors who are fully insured.

We are sorry if you are unhappy with any aspect of our service and are keen to put things right. Please see more about our complaints process here.

Condensation and fine cracks in plaster aren’t usually building faults.

New-build homes can contain up to 5,000 litres of water in the concrete, mortar, screed and plaster. The home needs to dry-out and, as it’s lived in and heated, water evaporates causing timber and plaster to shrink. This can cause small cracks to appear.

You may also notice that you have condensation forming on cold surfaces such as windows. Modern homes are designed to minimise drafts and stop heat escaping but this can also stop water vapour escaping, leading to increased condensation. Our guides to condensation in your home and condensation in your roof space aim to help you understand and control condensation in your home.

For more information about cracking in your new home, please have a look at cracking in homes.

If you have these problems, contact the builder as they may be responsible under the builder's warranty period to carry out work if they have not complied with NHBC Technical Requirements.

You will need to contact the Managing Agent in the first instance to check whether you or they are responsible, on behalf of the freeholder, to carry out any repairs. For example, it is usually the case that the common or ‘retained’ parts of a block of flats, such as the roof, external walls, main entrances, communal stairs and corridors are the Managing Agent’s responsibility to maintain and repair. Under the terms of your lease, you may be responsible for keeping the internal or ‘demised’ parts of your property in good condition, such as the internal decoration, sanitary ware, internal doors.

Buildmark provides cover for the home and is fully transferable during the lifespan of the policy. So, if you sell the home and the Buildmark policy has not expired, the new owner benefits from the remaining cover, subject to deductions for any prior claims.

Firstly you should ensure that you have an appropriate contract with the builder to build your property. It is the builder's responsibility to register your property with us for Buildmark cover and pay the appropriate fee.

Find out more about custom-build projects

Once you have checked that you have an offer of Buildmark cover before entering into a contract to have your home built, you or your legal advisor should accept the offer as soon as you have entered into the contract. You may be at risk of not having the benefit of Buildmark cover if you do not do this.

If you're planning to build the home yourself, then you will need a self-build policy. Find out more here

If you are buying an older home where the Buildmark policy has not expired, the current owner should provide your solicitor or conveyancer with the Buildmark certificate and policy details. We recommend that once you have moved, you email us with your policy number, name and contact details.

If you have moved in to a property that you believe has Buildmark cover and you do not have the certificate, our Customer Services team can issue a duplicate for you. Please email ccsupport@nhbc.co.uk quoting your name, address and postcode or call 0344 633 1000, press 0 and say 'Customer Services'.

Electronic copies of the policy booklets are available, click here.

As a shared owner, it is possible your home has either a Buildmark or Buildmark Choice policy. Your housing provider (e.g., your housing association, local authority or registered provider who is the landlord of your shared ownership lease) will be able to confirm your policy information.

Buildmark and Buildmark Choice are both builder warranty and insurance policies for newly built or newly converted homes. Buildmark lasts for 10 years after the home is completed and Buildmark Choice will last for either 10 or 12 years after completion of the home, depending on the cover chosen. If you or your housing provider is unable to find your policy documents, you can contact our Customer Services team on live chat or by calling 0344 633 1000.

Read our useful guides including our Guide to your new home for shared owners here.

Any problems with your home should be reported to your housing provider in the first instance e.g., your housing association. Keep a copy of any correspondence and records of any telephone calls when reporting damage in case you need to refer to anything in future.

Depending on the terms of your shared ownership lease, your housing provider may make a claim under the policy or arrange for repairs.

If they do not address the problem you report to them, or make a claim under the policy, you can contact us directly and we may be able to help if the problem is covered by the terms of the policy.

If your housing provider has waived their right to claim or has asked you to make a claim, then you can contact us directly and we may be able to help if the problem is covered by the terms of the policy.

If a claim is accepted by us, the policy applicable to your home may have a deductible or payable excess. If you’re unsure who is responsible for paying, please speak to your housing provider.

If you were a shared owner and now have full ownership of your home, please contact us so we can update our records. You can contact our Customer Services team on ccsupport@nhbc.co.uk or call us on 0344 633 1000.

NHBC run the 8 week survey on behalf of HBF (Home Builders Federation) to gather feedback from owners of new and newly converted homes shortly after they have moved in. We run a further survey at 9 months (legal completion date) to find out your experiences having lived in your home for a few months.

Following the introduction of the Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) in 2018, we have required builders to send details of their purchasers to NHBC at reservation stage. This data is updated by the builder to reflect dates of exchange of contract and legal completion (together with any reservations that have fallen through). Once a legal completion date is submitted by the builder and/or the purchaser or their conveyancer this date is used to send out the surveys 8 weeks later.

We endeavour to send the survey to all owner/occupiers of all newly built properties and new conversions, but we do rely on the builders/solicitors to supply us the required data within a specified time period.

Please note whilst we send the survey to all purchasers, it is only one response per property.

No, the survey is voluntary and you do not need to respond if you don’t want to. This will not have any effect on your NHBC cover. You can unsubscribe from any further invitations, by sending an email to homeownersurvey@nhbc.co.uk.

We send out the first survey 8 weeks after your date of legal completion, and a second survey 9 months after you have moved in to your new property.

Surveys are sent by email initially (if we have an email address). If we don't receive a response we will send a further email and text reminder (if we have your mobile phone number). If we don't receive a response to those invitations, a postal questionnaire will be sent out by second class post.

If we only have a postal address for you, we will send out a letter with details of how to complete the survey online. If we don’t receive a response a full survey is sent by post 14 days later. These are both sent by second class post.

You are under no obligation to complete the survey, but should you wish to do so, you only need to respond to one of the invitations. Feel free to use whichever way of taking part suits you best.

Please email homeownersurvey@nhbc.co.uk or telephone 01908 747906 to request a further survey.

Please email homeownersurvey@nhbc.co.uk or telephone 01908 747906 to request a further survey.

Because we use various methods to invite you to participate in the survey occasionally there can be a crossover where you may have responded online and then receive a postal version the next day. If you are not sure you can contact us to confirm we have received your completed survey.

Please email homeownersurvey@nhbc.co.uk or telephone 01908 747906.

No. The rules of the survey are very strict. Once a completed survey is received by us, the results cannot be amended or retracted for any reason.

No. If you have any queries, please email: homeownersurvey@nhbc.co.uk or telephone 01908 747906.

Yes. We ask that you complete and return the survey sent at 8 weeks and at 9 months as soon as you can, but you do have up to 12 weeks from the date of the survey invitation to return it to us.

Please email homeownersurvey@nhbc.co.uk or telephone 01908 747906.

You can ask us to remove your personal details when completing the survey. This means that your name, address, and contact details will be removed and not visible to your builder. Please note that due to the nature of the survey, the development/site will still be visible. More information on how we handle personal data can be found in our Privacy Policy

Survey responses are used to drive improvement to the house-building industry. Your builder will be able to see your response (your identity will be hidden where you have requested so) and where they are a member of the Home Builders Federation (HBF), your response is also combined with other responses to inform the HBF star rating.

When building a new home, the builder must comply with the relevant Building Regulations and associated legislation in place at the time they registered their intention to build on a plot.

Building Regulations are defined by government and set minimum standards for the design and construction of buildings to make sure that a property is safe and comfortable to live in. They make sure that facilities are provided for people, including those with disabilities, to access and move around inside buildings.

Building control bodies are responsible for checking building work to make sure that the work is carried out in compliance with the Building Regulations that have been defined by the government.

There are three separate bodies who are responsible for ensuring compliance with Building Regulations: Local Authorities, who have building control departments that employ building control officers, Registered Building Control Approvers, who are private sector organisations that carry out building control work in England and Wales and the Building Safety Regulator who provide building control for High Risk Buildings (HRB) which are buildings that have a floor over 18m or are seven storeys or over and which contain at least two residential units or are a hospital or care home.

When deciding to build a new home which is not a HRB, a builder can choose between Local Authority Building Control or a Registered Building Control Approver to carry out the building control work. As of 1 October 2023, the Building Safety Regulator became the only building control authority for HRB meaning that builders cannot choose either Local Authority Building Control or Registered Building Control Approvers on such buildings.

NHBC Building Control Services is an Registered Building Control Approver authorised to carry out building control services. Registered Building Control Approvers are required to adhere to the Building Safety Regulator (BSR) Operational Standards Rules for Registered Building Control Approvers and follow the Professional Conduct Rules for Registered Building Control Approvers in their working practices.

Further information about the role of Building Safety Regulator (BSR) and the Operational Standards Rules can be found here.

If NHBC Building Control Services was responsible for building control at your property, this information will be specifically detailed on your Buildmark Insurance Certificate. You can also contact our Customer Services team. Please email ccsupport@nhbc.co.uk quoting your name, address and postcode. If you would prefer to talk to us, please call 0800 035 6422.

Yes. An NHBC registered builder can purchase an NHBC warranty but choose to employ a different body to carry out building control services on a property

We carry out inspections at certain stages during the construction process to assess our risk, and to help satisfy ourselves that we can offer our 10-year NHBC Buildmark warranty on the property. These inspections are in addition to and do not replace those that will be carried out by your builder’s chosen building control body.

If NHBC Building Control Services is responsible for building control services at your property, any plans or drawings that were submitted to NHBC by your builder were for the purpose of undertaking that function. The copyright for these plans belongs to the builder and not to NHBC. For these reasons, NHBC does not provide a service releasing those plans. You should instead contact your builder directly.

We are sorry to hear that you have cause to complain. Details about how we manage complaints about NHBC Building Control Services can be found here.