New house and leaky plumbing

Akrasia

I'm living in a newly built cardboard box (It's about 2 years old) and the plumbing is leaking already from the upstairs shower and has ruined the kitchen ceiling.

Can someone please tell me if the developer is obliged to offer a warranty against this kind of thing?

jdivision

Check whether it was built with a Homebond or Premier Guarantee. Then ring either one. The Premier guarantee scheme covers more eventualities.

Moonbeam

I suffer similar problems,get on to the builder and moan!
That is if you manage to contact them!
Have you had earlier leaks that the builders have had to come out over?

godtabh

jdivision wrote:

Check whether it was built with a Homebond or Premier Guarantee. Then ring either one. The Premier guarantee scheme covers more eventualities.

Homebond only deals with structural issues and proving it can be very difficult. Not sure about the other people

jdivision

kearnsr wrote:

Homebond only deals with structural issues and proving it can be very difficult. Not sure about the other people

I would have assumed that a leaking ceiling from a shower has the potential to become a structural issue.

RIRI

jdivision wrote:

I would have assumed that a leaking ceiling from a shower has the potential to become a structural issue.

Homebond etc is in place to cover structural building defects only as kernser has mentioned. This particular problem will only become a structural problem if it is left unattended - the maintenance / upkeep of your property is your responsibility and any structural damage as a direct result of your failure to maintain the property will not be entertained by Homebond or the builder for that matter.

Generally speaking a builer will attend this type of problem within the first 12 months after hand over. That said if there is a history of a leak in this specific area which they have attended previously they should rectify.

Your OP isn't very clear as to whether there is a leak in the actual pipework or perhaps the seal around the bath / shower above has come away. If it is the former - call a plumber straight away, if the latter just seal it up again & alow it to dry out.

Hope this helps

Akrasia

I've checked, and the estate is covered by Homebond, But like has been said, people I talked to said that homebond only covers structural issues and define structural issues as bricks and mortar or something stupid like that.

They say plumbing and ceilings don't count and that we should take it up with the plumber, but the plumber was hired by the developer...

Someone I talked to said that once the snag list is signed off, that is the end of the developer's liability, and any problems that arise after that are the house owners responsibility... but that's nonsense, this is internal plumbing, without taking up the floors or ceiling, there would be know way for us to know that it was sub standard, and you can't go around knocking holes everywhere to do a snag list

Is there no consumer legislation out there to ensure that the construction of a new home is of merchantable quality and fit for purpose?

Internal plumbing is supposed to last more than 2 feckin years, and it's not like we've been abusing it, we haven't got a commercial oyster farm operating from the upstairs shower or anything.

Moonbeam

Bring it up with the builders.

godtabh

Homebond are difficult enough to deal with. They arent just gona and over money because you see a crack etc.

A leaking shower over time will cause damage. How long it will take to become a serious structural problem depends on a lot of things.

BostonB

The Developer would usually fix these things. But getting them to do it is often difficult. Its a bit of a loop hole if you ask me. Lots of stuff appears in a new house that you won't be aware of when doing a snag list.

Borzoi

Akrasia wrote:

They say plumbing and ceilings don't count and that we should take it up with the plumber, but the plumber was hired by the developer...

Someone I talked to said that once the snag list is signed off, that is the end of the developer's liability, and any problems that arise after that are the house owners responsibility... but that's nonsense, this is internal plumbing, without taking up the floors or ceiling, there would be know way for us to know that it was sub standard, and you can't go around knocking holes everywhere to do a snag list
.

Most builders will repair problems that develope in the first few months of ownership, things usually tend to go wrong quickly or not at all. If the builder is still on site, you might still have a hope.

After two years is unlikely that piping is leaking, more likely that the silicone seal around the shower isn't tight anymore, which is a minor repair job (compared to taking out shower etc)