Minister issue standards warning to Help to Buy home builders

A government minister has warned developers that the standard of new homes needs to improve if they are to continue working with the taxpayer-funded Help to Buy scheme.

James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, told the annual conference of the Home Builders Federation on Tuesday: “For most people, buying a home is one of the biggest financial and emotional investments of their lives. And for that to go from being a cherished dream to becoming a nightmare of snagging problems months after moving in and punitive costs is simply unacceptable.”

According to The Times, Brokenshire said he would be “considering carefully how the developers who work with us meet the standards and quality that customers expect and deserve” before an updated Help to Buy scheme is launched in 2021.

Help to Buy was introduced in 2013. Intended to give people on lower incomes access to the soaring property market by providing interest-free government loans, the scheme has been lambasted by some for propping up house prices while lining the pockets of housebuilders.

FTSE 100 firm Persimmon came under earlier this year when it posted record pre-tax profits of £1.09bn, the largest ever posted by a UK housebuilder. Almost half of Persimmon’s house sales are made through the taxpayer-funded scheme.

Persimmon has also been criticised for the quality of its homes, with the Home Builders Federation customer satisfaction survey giving it just a three star ranking. Fellow blue chip housebuilders Taylor Wimpey and Barrett Developments have five stars.

Under new chief executive Dave Jenkinson, however, Persimmon is attempting to improve customer service, and earlier this month said it would allow homebuyers to withhold an average of £3,600 per home until all faults are fixed. Former chief Jeff Fairburn was ousted last year after he was paid a £75m bonus, causing an outcry over excessive executive pay.