Nhbc snagging: UK New Home Defect Liability Terms
The UK New Home Defect Liability Terms carries 4 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages; the 3 published figures given by term run from 1 to 15 year, read 7 November 2026.
5 of the 18 named sources read in full publish a figure; 13 publish none, read 7 November 2026.
By term and time
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| termstructural insurance period after builder warranty (Buildmark years 3-10) | 8year | 8 to 8year | 1 |
| termlimitation period (prospective) | 15year | 15 to 15year | 1 |
| terminitial period (transitional) | 1year | 1 to 1year | 1 |
| timeright of action accrued before commencement | 30year | 30 to 30year | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026) | 150GBP | 2026-11-07 | |
| NHBC Buildmark: the first two years | 30day | 2026-11-07 | |
| New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026) | 30day | 2026-11-07 | |
| New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026) | 30day | 2026-11-07 | |
| Building Safety Act 2022 s.135 (limitation) | 30year | right of action accrued before commencement | 2026-11-02 |
| New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026) | 24hour | 2026-11-07 | |
| Building Safety Act 2022 s.135 (limitation) | 15year | limitation period (prospective) | 2026-11-02 |
| JCT: making good with rectification periods | 14day | 2026-11-07 | |
| New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026) | 14day | 2026-11-07 | |
| NHBC warranty and insurance cover | 8year | structural insurance period after builder warranty (Buildmark years 3-10) | 2026-11-07 |
| Building Safety Act 2022 s.135 (limitation) | 1year | initial period (transitional) | 2026-11-02 |
The sentence each figure was read from (11)
- New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026), read 2026-11-07:
a) they must not charge more than £150 (or any future maximum amount that we may set).
- NHBC Buildmark: the first two years, read 2026-11-07:
have gone through the entire builder's complaint process and received a final written response from the builder (within 30 days of sending a formal complaint).
- New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026), read 2026-11-07:
keeping to the Code, and the developer must provide this within 30 days.
- New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026), read 2026-11-07:
for addressing these, ideally before legal completion or within 30 days if this is not possible.
- Building Safety Act 2022 s.135 (limitation), read 2026-11-02:
Where by virtue of section 1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 a person became entitled, before the commencement date, to bring an action against any other person, this section applies in relation to the action as if the reference in subsection (1) to 15 years were a reference to 30 years.
- New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026), read 2026-11-07:
If a developer charges a fee, they must refund this in full if the customer tells them, within 24 hours
- Building Safety Act 2022 s.135 (limitation), read 2026-11-02:
Where by virtue of a relevant provision a person becomes entitled to bring an action against any other person, no action may be brought after the expiration of 15 years from the date on which the right of action accrued.
- JCT: making good with rectification periods, read 2026-11-07:
(In both cases, this is because the certificate relates only to the defects notified to the Contractor within 14 days of the expiry of the Rectification Period).
- New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026), read 2026-11-07:
All Reservation Agreements must include a cooling-off period of at least 14 days.
- NHBC warranty and insurance cover, read 2026-11-07:
This was the foundation for our current Buildmark policy which comprises deposit protection, a two-year builder warranty period backed by the NHBC resolution service and a further eight years’ insurance cover against damage caused by defects in the structure of the property.
- Building Safety Act 2022 s.135 (limitation), read 2026-11-02:
“the initial period” means the period of one year beginning with the day on which this section comes into force.
Read in full, publishes no figure
13 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- NHBC warranties and cover FAQs (builders), read 2026-10-17: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- New Homes Quality Board FAQs, read 2026-09-19: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Consumer Code for Home Builders: the Code Requirements, read 2026-09-19: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Consumer Code fifth edition (from 1 Jan 2024), read 2026-09-19: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- New Homes Ombudsman Service, read 2026-09-19: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- New Homes Ombudsman Service: contact and referral, read 2026-09-19: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Defective Premises Act 1972, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- The Building Regulations 2010, read 2026-11-07: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- GOV.UK Approved Documents, read 2026-09-11: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Scottish Government building standards, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Welsh Government building regulations, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Premier Guarantee: understand your cover, read 2026-09-26: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- LABC Warranty homeowners, read 2026-09-12: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
5 of the 18 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 13 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 0 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in year (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 4 figures, never sentences; 16 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per regime per term, quoted verbatim from the body that writes it with its effective date: the builder liability window (NHBC Buildmark and the other warranty providers), the Code obligations and the complaint clock (New Homes Quality Code, Consumer Code for Home Builders, New Homes Ombudsman), the contractual rectification period (JCT), the statutory floor (Defective Premises Act 1972 as extended by Building Safety Act 2022 s.135) and the technical standard a defect is measured against (Building Regulations 2010 and the Approved Documents in England, the Welsh regulations, the Scottish technical handbooks).
The derivation is the CROSS-REGIME comparison - which clock is shortest for a given home, which edition applies by reservation or warrant date, and what changed at each edition - which no single body publishes because each publishes only its own
16 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (18)
- NHBC Buildmark: the first two years(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- NHBC warranties and cover FAQs (builders)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- NHBC warranty and insurance cover(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- New Homes Quality Board FAQs(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Consumer Code for Home Builders: the Code Requirements(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Consumer Code fifth edition (from 1 Jan 2024)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- New Homes Ombudsman Service(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- New Homes Ombudsman Service: contact and referral(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- JCT: making good with rectification periods(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Defective Premises Act 1972(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Building Safety Act 2022 s.135 (limitation)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- The Building Regulations 2010(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- GOV.UK Approved Documents(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Scottish Government building standards(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Welsh Government building regulations(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Premier Guarantee: understand your cover(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- LABC Warranty homeowners(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- New Homes Quality Code v2 (March 2026)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The UK New Home Defect Liability Terms carries 4 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages; the 3 published figures given by term run from 1 to 15 year, read 7 November 2026.
5 of the 18 named sources read in full publish a figure; 13 publish none, read 7 November 2026.
UK New Home Defect Liability Terms, term structural insurance period after builder warranty (Buildmark years 3-10): median 8 year across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
UK New Home Defect Liability Terms, term limitation period (prospective): median 15 year across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
UK New Home Defect Liability Terms, term initial period (transitional): median 1 year across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
UK New Home Defect Liability Terms, time right of action accrued before commencement: median 30 year across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
Cite as: "snaggingsoftware.co.uk UK New Home Defect Liability Terms", updated 2026-11-08, https://snaggingsoftware.co.uk/datasets/uk-new-home-defect-liability-terms/.
Download the CSV (11 rows, computed 2026-11-08)
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Questions this data answers
What standard is a snag judged against in the UK, how long is the builder on the hook, and who adjudicates?
The UK New Home Defect Liability Terms carries 4 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages; the 3 published figures given by term run from 1 to 15 year, read 7 November 2026.
Where do the figures in the UK New Home Defect Liability Terms come from?
Every figure is quoted from its source's own page and dated (last read 7 Nov 2026). 18 named sources were read and 5 publish a figure; the 13 that publish none are recorded as not published, never estimated.