How long is a new-build warranty?
All new-build Peabody homes come with a warranty, for two years. This two-year period is commonly referred to as the "defects liability period". The developer of your home is responsible for rectifying specified defects that occur in your property during this period.
The defect liability period starts from the date your property is handed over to Peabody New Homes from the developer, not the date on which you complete your home purchase.
For example, if your property was handed over to Peabody New Homes in June 2022, but you purchased it in September 2020, then your property’s warranty would expire in June 2024.
Properties sold as seen
Many Peabody properties are ‘sold-as-seen’. This means that you agree to take on the property in its current decorative condition. For example, if you are purchasing a property that was once the show flat, it may contain various marks and scuffs. By agreeing to purchase the property on a sold-as-seen basis, these decorative items will not be accepted as a defect by the developer and, as such, will not be rectified.
However, if anything goes wrong during the warranty period, such as the heating system failing or a pipe developing a leak, these items would be treated as defects by the developer and rectified within the allocated target timescale.
Most properties that purchasers have been given the chance to view before they purchase are sold-as-seen. If you have any queries about buying sold-as-seen properties, don't hesitate to get in touch with the Peabody Sales Team.
Properties sold off-plan
If you are buying a property off-plan, you may not have had the chance to view it before exchanging. However, all Peabody properties undergo an extensive snagging and inspection process before handover.
Developers expect all decorative items such as scratched windows, poorly applied mastic, and paint imperfections on walls to be picked up and resolved during this snagging process.
Therefore, many developers will not accept any decorative items to be logged as a defect following handover. It is important to be aware of this now to save any future disappointment should you discover a decorative issue in your home that was missed during the snagging process.
Information about property defects
Reporting a defect
- A "defect" is the name given to any problem inside your home, that the developer is contractually liable to rectify under the warranty.
- You will report defects via a call center. The call center operative will then formally instruct the developer to attend to rectify the defect.
- Defects are aspects of a new building that are not performing for their intended use or occur because of the design, failure of materials, or poor workmanship by the developer. It is important to report defects when they are first noticed to prevent any long-term damage to your property. Examples of defects could be windows or doors not closing correctly, major cracks to the façade, and leaks or water ingress.
- We may not class some minor repairs as defects. These include minor shrinkage cracks due to drying out and normal wear and tear within the property. Someone in the New Homes and Customer Care Team will be on hand to assist you in diagnosing any repairs or defects.
Common defects
- Kitchen units that have dropped naturally at the hinges
- Toilet not flushing
- Loose taps
- No heating or hot water
- Door-entry system not working
- Ventilation system not working
- Large cracks (wider than a £1 coin) on stairs or where walls meet windows, doorframes and skirting boards.
- There may be other types of defects depending on your building.
Not included in defects
- Kitchen units that have come away at the hinges due to mistreatment.
- Blocked toilets as a result of wet wipes, nappies, sanitary towels and other items being flushed down them.
- Damage caused by misuse or vandalism.
- TV or set-top box not working when all other TVs in the building are working.
- Small cracks that can be painted over. (As your new home is lived in and heated, the building fabric – the bricks, plaster and woodwork – will shrink. This may cause small cracks in walls, ceilings, and at the joints of skirting boards. These cracks are not structurally significant and can be put right in the normal process of redecoration. Because such minor cracks are inevitable, these are not deemed to be defects.)
Before reporting a defect
- Check the user manual guides provided in your handover pack. Follow the instructions provided to see if you can easily and safely fix the issue yourself.
- Check that any gas or electrical issues are not due to local works being carried out in the area.
- Be sure that the issue was a result of poor workmanship or poor quality of materials
End of defects inspections
- At around the time the defects liability period expires, representatives from Peabody and the developers will attend an inspection of your home. The inspection will formally log any defects that have not yet been rectified and give you a chance to point out any issues of concern.
- Appointments will then be made to rectify the outstanding defects and once these are all resolved you will be required to sign a form confirming every defect has been rectified.
- As well as the two-year developer warranty, your Peabody property will be covered by an extended warranty, usually provided by either the NHBC or BLP. These warranties typically last ten years.
- For more information on these extended warranties, please visit the NHBC, and BLP websites. Once you purchase your home, your solicitor will forward you the relevant certificate of insurance.
FAQs
See some recent common questions related to warranties and defects. For any further questions, speak to a member of our team.
You are not able to produce a snagging list prior to purchase, but you will normally be invited to a measure-up and viewing of your property prior to completion (this could be after you have exchanged contracts). If you notice any non-decorative defects during this visit then you can report this to the accompanying member of the Sales Team, who will ensure that this defect is logged with the developer
Once you have reported a defect, a member of our team might need to ask you for more information about how it has occurred so a comprehensive report can be provided to the main contractor for review. We may request pictures or videos that illustrate the issue; this helps to determine the urgency of the problem and who would be required to attend.
Following this, the New Homes and Customer Care team will send the issue over to the developer who will then contact you to arrange a suitable appointment.
It is important to note that we are dependent upon the developer completing the work within the agreed timescales. Our Defect Resolution Team liaises with developers every week regarding outstanding defects and these updates are communicated back to you. Where the developer has not completed the works within the agreed timescales, we may consider instructing an alternative contractor to carry out the works without any cost to you.
There are three defect categories that will affect the timescale:
Emergency defects which may cause real danger to life or risk of major damage to property. The developer must make these safe within 4 hours and put them right within 24 hours. Examples of emergency defects include complete loss of power (when this is not related to the fuses in your home, which you are responsible for, or the mains power supply which the electricity company is responsible for), total loss of water supply, leaks which cannot be contained and faulty locks to doors and windows on the outside of the property.
Urgent defects are small repairs that need to be carried out urgently to prevent damage to property. The developer must complete these within 5 working days. Examples of urgent defects include leaks in sinks, baths, or basins, a leak in the roof (unless it cannot be contained), and a door entry system not working.
Non-urgent defects are small repairs where a defect is less urgent but has the potential to cause damage to the property. The developer must complete these within 20 working days. Examples of non-urgent defects are minor repairs to doors and faults that haven't been put right.
If you are without power, experiencing a total loss of heating during the winter months, have no water or there is something that can cause danger to you, please call our emergency lines (below).
Do not report online or by email, please call us on and you will be diverted to our emergency service.
Call 0800 022 4040 (free from landlines) or 020 7021 4444
At the end of the DLP – the period of developer defect liability for a newly built home – it is important to have an EoD (End of Defect) inspection so that any defects still present and identified can be rectified. Your dedicated officer will contact you to book an end-of-defect inspection. You can also complete this form.