Who Should You Contact When Something Goes Wrong in a New-Build Home?
- barbarosdenlisoz
- Aug 19
- 7 min read
Something goes wrong in your new-build home.
Do you call the site manager? Customer care? The developer? Your warranty provider? The boiler manufacturer? Your utility company?
The right answer depends on what has gone wrong and how urgent it is.
For most construction defects, the developer’s aftercare or customer care team should be your main formal contact. But emergencies, utility problems, appliances and unresolved disputes may need a different route.
Here’s a simple way to work out who to contact.
First question: is it an emergency?
Before worrying about warranties or snagging procedures, deal with any immediate risk.
For example, if you smell gas or suspect a carbon monoxide or gas emergency, the National Gas Emergency Service advises calling 0800 111 999 immediately.
For a power cut or problem with the electricity network in Great Britain, 105 connects you to your local electricity network operator. If there is an immediate danger to life, such as a fallen power line creating a serious hazard, call 999.
For a significant water leak inside the home, the priority is normally to prevent further damage where it is safe to do so — for example by turning off the water at the internal stop tap — before contacting the appropriate emergency or aftercare service.
The important point is:
An emergency should be made safe first. Responsibility for the underlying defect can be dealt with afterwards.
Before you move in: find out how reporting works
Your home demonstration or pre-completion appointment is a good time to understand what happens after you get the keys.
The site team may take you through things such as the heating, ventilation, stop tap, consumer unit and other features of the home. But just as importantly, make sure you know:
who you report snags and defects to;
whether the developer uses an online portal, email address or customer care team;
who to contact for an emergency;
what happens after an issue is reported;
and how to make a formal complaint if something remains unresolved.
For homes covered by the New Homes Quality Code, developers must provide customers with clear after-sales information, including how problems should be reported, relevant contact details and the process for emergencies and complaints.
If you are approaching completion and haven't been offered a home demonstration or pre-completion appointment, ask the developer about it. Even if their process uses different terminology, you should make sure you understand how to report problems before moving in.
Don't leave completion day with only a site manager's mobile number and assume that is your aftercare process.
Who should you contact about a normal snag or construction defect?
For most problems with the construction or finish of a new-build home, your first formal contact should usually be the developer’s customer care, aftercare or defects team.
Examples might include:
a leaking window;
poor decoration;
doors not operating properly;
defective sealant;
damaged finishes present at handover;
drainage problems;
recurring cracking;
or another suspected construction defect.
Under NHBC Buildmark, for example, the builder is normally responsible for qualifying problems during the first two-year builder warranty period. NHBC tells homeowners to contact the builder as soon as reasonably possible and keep a record of what was reported and when.
Other new-home warranty arrangements also commonly have an initial period during which the developer is primarily responsible for defects, although the wording and cover vary between policies. LABC Warranty and Premier Guarantee policy documents, for example, describe an initial two-year defects period in which the developer is responsible for remedying qualifying defects.
Always check the policy supplied with your own home rather than assuming every warranty works in exactly the same way.
Should you speak to the site manager?
If your development is still being built, the site manager can be extremely useful.
They may know the property, the trades involved and the quickest way to get something inspected.
But there is an important difference between speaking to someone on site and formally reporting a defect.
If the site manager says:
“We’ll get someone round next week.”
that may solve the problem quickly.
But you should still make sure the issue is recorded through the developer’s normal aftercare system, particularly if it is significant or remains unresolved.
A useful approach is:
Speak to the site team if helpful → report it to customer care → keep the written record.
That avoids relying on a conversation that may be difficult to trace six months later.
What about the contractor who actually carried out the work?
Usually, keep the developer involved.
You might discover that the plumber, electrician, window installer or another subcontractor has been asked to return.
That does not necessarily mean you should start managing the repair directly with that contractor.
If the developer arranged the work, keep the developer or customer care team copied into important communication so there is a clear record of:
what was reported;
who attended;
what repair was attempted;
and whether the issue was resolved.
This becomes particularly important if the first repair does not work.
When should you contact the manufacturer?
Some problems are better directed towards a product manufacturer rather than treated as ordinary construction snagging.
Common examples include certain:
kitchen appliances;
heating controls;
boilers;
ventilation equipment;
garage door mechanisms;
or other products supplied with their own warranty.
Check the information provided at handover.
However, don't assume that every problem involving a branded product is automatically a manufacturer issue.
For example, an appliance itself may have failed under its manufacturer's warranty, whereas damage caused by poor installation could be a different matter.
If you aren't sure, ask the developer which route they expect you to use before spending money arranging your own repair.
When is it a utility provider issue?
Not every problem inside a new home has been caused by the housebuilder.
A wider power cut, interrupted water supply or external network problem may sit with the relevant utility or network operator.
A useful clue is whether neighbouring homes are affected too.
If several properties on the development suddenly lose power, for example, that points towards a wider supply issue rather than an electrical snag inside one property.
Conversely, if only one part of your home has stopped working, the issue may be within the property and need investigating through the appropriate route.
What if customer care isn't resolving the problem?
This is where homeowners often get stuck.
They repeatedly email the same person, speak to the site manager again and arrange another contractor visit — but the issue never actually moves forward.
At that point, stop treating it as another informal follow-up.
Move to the developer's formal complaints process.
Set out clearly:
What the problem is.
When you first reported it.
What has happened since.
What remains unresolved.
What you want the developer to do.
Keep it factual and attach the important evidence.
If your home falls under the New Homes Quality Code, registered developers must provide an after-sales service for at least two years and have a complaints procedure. The current Code also provides access to the New Homes Ombudsman Service for qualifying unresolved complaints.
When should you contact the warranty provider?
Your structural warranty provider should not necessarily be the first call every time you find a minor snag.
During the initial builder responsibility period, the normal route is generally to give the developer the opportunity to resolve qualifying defects first.
But the warranty provider becomes increasingly important when:
the developer refuses responsibility;
the developer has failed to resolve a qualifying defect;
the formal complaints process has been exhausted;
you need to understand whether the issue may fall within your warranty;
or the developer is no longer trading.
For NHBC Buildmark, homeowners requesting the resolution service during the first two years must normally first complete the builder's complaints process and provide the builder's final written response.
The Consumer Code for Home Builders similarly advises homeowners who remain unhappy after using their builder's complaints process to contact their home warranty body.
Depending on the issue, the warranty body may deal with it under the warranty or help route a qualifying Code complaint towards its Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme.
The exact route therefore depends on which warranty and consumer code applies to your home.
Your reservation paperwork and warranty documents should tell you.
What does the full escalation route look like?
For a normal construction defect, a sensible escalation path is often:
1. Site manager or site team
Useful for quick practical help while the development is still active.
↓
2. Developer customer care / aftercare
Formally report the defect and create a written record.
↓
3. Follow up with evidence
Record failed repairs, missed appointments and continuing symptoms.
↓
4. Developer's formal complaints procedure
Use this when normal aftercare is no longer getting the issue resolved.
↓
5. Warranty provider
Check whether its resolution, conciliation or claims process may apply.
↓
6. Relevant consumer redress scheme
Depending on your home and developer, this could include the New Homes Ombudsman Service or the Consumer Code for Home Builders' Independent Dispute Resolution Scheme.
Not every problem needs to reach the bottom of this list.
Often, good evidence and a clear formal complaint are enough to get an issue moving again.
Keep one record of everything
Whichever route you use, documentation matters.
Keep:
photographs of the defect;
the date you first reported it;
emails and portal submissions;
appointments;
repair attempts;
photographs after repairs;
and any final responses or rejection letters.
This is particularly valuable when an issue moves from the site team to customer care, then to a complaint handler or warranty provider. Each new person needs to understand what has already happened.
You should not have to reconstruct six months of repair history from your camera roll and old emails.
The SnagClear App can help keep defects organised by room, attach photographs, create a clear PDF report and track what has and has not been repaired.
The important part is having a clear history — whether the problem is resolved by the first contractor who visits or eventually needs escalating further.
A simple rule to remember
When something goes wrong in your new-build:
Emergency? Make it safe and use the appropriate emergency service.
Construction defect? Report it to the developer's customer care team.
Site still active? Speak to the site manager if useful — but keep the formal report in writing.
Product failure? Check whether a manufacturer's warranty applies.
Utility problem? Check whether the wider supply or network is affected.
Developer not resolving it? Move from informal chasing to the formal complaints process.
Still unresolved? Check your structural warranty and the relevant consumer redress scheme.
Knowing who should deal with the problem can save weeks of being passed between people who were never responsible for resolving it in the first place.
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