New house warranty

DUB142

Hi all,
I’m sorry if this was answered before.

Can anyone tell me if there is a standard amount of time plumbing work is guaranteed for when you buy a new house (in the contract)? Site manager told me the maximum is 18 months. This doesn’t seem very long as my solicitor told me I have a 10 year guarantee on the house but not sure if that’s only structural? I read somewhere before that plumbing and electrical are guaranteed for 5 years on new builds.

Thanks in advance.

Victor

It is down to the contract. Note that one-off houses that people procure themselves typically have different contracts to those built by developers.

Typically, the situation is that the purchaser / client has 1-2 years to report patent (obvious) defects, e.g. doors that don't close, scuffed paintwork, etc. This is not to say that they are all minor matters - sometimes it can be serious faults like missing structural members.

The purchaser / client then has 6-12 years (measured from completion) to report latent (hidden) defects. This might be something like cracking or subsidence that might take time to manifest themselves.

There are various products like Homebond that have been used over the years to ensure builders deal with defects. However, they can be reliant on the builder doing the work and aren't necessarily backed by insurance or similar arrangements.