UK new-build crisis: defects, mould force families from homes as ombudsman complaints triple

Elissa and Johnnie moved into what they thought would be their forever home in North Lincolnshire just before Christmas 2024. Within weeks, they began noticing problems. They hired an independent inspector—known in the trade as a snagger—who identified roughly 150 faults across their four-bedroom property: walls that weren't plumb, windows that bowed outward, a kitchen installed poorly. The couple, who had bought the home outright with a mortgage, were forced to move out in early January while contractors attempted repairs. Elissa, who lives with a long-term health condition, found the stress overwhelming enough to send her to hospital multiple times with chest pains that doctors attributed to anxiety. By the time the BBC spoke with them, they had relocated twice in a single year and were living in rental accommodation while work continued.

Their experience is no longer exceptional. Dozens of people across the UK have contacted BBC Your Voice with similar stories: a woman in Somerset discovering black mould throughout her newly purchased home; a tenant in London reporting collapsed ceilings in a brand-new apartment block; a social housing resident in Essex moving into a property saturated with damp and mould. What unites these accounts is not just the physical defects themselves, but the emotional toll—families describing themselves as stressed and desperate, their biggest financial purchase transformed into a source of crisis.

The scale of the problem is now visible in official data. The New Homes Ombudsman Service, a UK-wide body established by major stakeholders in the building industry, received just over 1,800 complaints in the 2025-26 financial year. That represents a more than threefold increase from fewer than 600 complaints the year before. Defects and snagging issues topped the list of grievances. The ombudsman attributes part of this surge to expanded eligibility and growing awareness, but the underlying reality is stark: new homes across Britain are being delivered with serious problems, and homeowners are reaching out for help in unprecedented numbers.

Yet the system designed to protect them has significant gaps. The New Homes Ombudsman Service covers only properties purchased outright—not homes bought through shared-ownership schemes, and not build-to-rent properties constructed specifically for letting. This means roughly a third of all new homes sit entirely outside the scheme's reach. Jess and her partner Darryl discovered black mould in their shared-ownership home in Somerset just ten days after moving in, having invested all their savings into the purchase. Because they bought through shared-ownership, the ombudsman could not intervene. Tilia Homes, the builder, moved them out for five weeks of repairs, but eighteen months later, Jess says the house remains incomplete and they face another three-month displacement for further work.

Mphango Simwaka, a tenant in The Fold, a 35-storey residential complex in Croydon completed in 2022, experienced a different kind of exclusion. She moved in that year and was diagnosed with cancer shortly afterward. She describes watching mould spread rapidly through different apartments, residents' roofs failing, the building deteriorating around her. When she and other residents complained to their landlord, Legal & General, they were told to vacate for renovations. Nearly a year later, Mphango has not returned. As a renter in a build-to-rent property, she had no access to the New Homes Ombudsman Service—a gap that left her without formal recourse.

Nigel Cates, the chief ombudsman, and MPs across the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee have called for urgent reform. The government has responded by committing to establish a mandatory ombudsman service covering all new homes, with Housing Secretary Angela Rayner stating that homes should be safe and built to last. This echoes a commitment made by the previous Conservative government in 2022 as part of the Building Safety Act, though implementation has stalled. Industry experts warn that without such reform, the system is vulnerable to catastrophic failure. As the government pursues a target of building 1.5 million homes in England by 2029, the pace of construction is accelerating. John Cooper, director of snagging company New Home Quality Control, says the industry is setting itself up for a huge fail. His inspectors regularly uncover breaches of building regulations—problems with insulation, brickwork, carpentry—that current pre-handover checks fail to catch. A panel of experts recently told Parliament that parts of the building industry operate like the wild west, lacking uniform standards and robust oversight.

For those with access to ombudsman services, the difference is measurable. Luke Weaver, a social housing tenant in Essex, discovered damp and mould in his new home that he believed was affecting his two-year-old son's health. Because social housing residents can access the Housing Ombudsman—a separate service from the New Homes Ombudsman—his case was investigated. The ombudsman found that his housing association, Clarion, had not handled the damp and mould issues appropriately, even though the builder remained responsible during the defect period. Clarion apologized, paid Luke £1,150 in compensation, and arranged further inspection. Luke says he feels vindicated and believes he would not have received this support without the ombudsman's intervention. His case illustrates what protection looks like when it exists—and by contrast, what homeowners like Elissa, Johnnie, and Jess are navigating without it.