The NHBC Standards Guide: What Your New Build Must Deliver

Introduction

Around seven in ten new homes built in the UK are covered by an NHBC warranty. That makes the NHBC standards the benchmark against which your new build should be judged — and, if something is wrong, the framework you fall back on when your developer will not put it right. Understanding the basics puts you in a far stronger position when you inspect.

This guide explains what the NHBC is, what the standards cover, how the 10-year warranty is structured, and how to check what you see against what your builder was required to deliver. For the warranty claim process itself, see our guide to new build warranty defects.

What the NHBC Is

The National House-Building Council (NHBC) is the UK’s largest provider of new-home warranties and the setting body for the NHBC standards — the technical requirements that registered builders must follow. If your home has an NHBC Buildmark certificate (you should receive it at handover), the standards and the warranty both apply.

Other warranty providers — Premier Guarantee, LABC Warranty, Checkmate, and some developer-backed schemes — operate on similar principles. The structure below applies in broad strokes to most of them; always check your own certificate for the exact terms.

The NHBC Warranty Timeline

The NHBC Buildmark warranty runs in three stages. Knowing which stage you are in tells you who is responsible and how quickly to act.

What the Standards Cover

The NHBC standards are detailed technical requirements covering every part of a new home. You do not need to read them all, but it helps to know the areas buyers most often rely on.

Structure and foundations

Foundations, substructure, structural walls, floors, and roofs must be designed and built to resist movement and to remain stable and weather-tight for the warranty period. Large, widening, or stepped cracks are the most visible sign of a structural concern and should be reported immediately.

Weather-tightness and drainage

Roofs, walls, windows, and doors must keep out the weather. Drainage must be laid to a correct fall so water flows away. Leaks, damp, and standing water are the most common weather-tightness complaints and are covered throughout the warranty.

Services and finishes

In the first two years the standards also cover services (plumbing, electrics, heating, ventilation) and finishes (plaster, joinery, tiling, decoration). These are the items that make up the bulk of a snag list. After year two, only defects that are structural or affect weather-tightness continue to be covered.

Tolerances and What Counts as a Defect

The standards include tolerances — the acceptable limits for things like plumbness, levelness, and gaps. A wall slightly out of true within tolerance is not a defect; one beyond tolerance is. This is where disputes most often arise.

• Walls and floors have permitted deviations from true over a given length.
• Doors and windows must open and close freely and latch without force.
• Tiles must be fixed without hollow-sounding areas and grouted without gaps.
• Paint and plaster must be finished without visible runs, sags, or major blemishes.

You do not need to measure tolerances yourself. Photograph the issue clearly and describe what you see; if a fix is disputed, the standards give the warranty provider an objective basis to judge it.

How to Use the Standards When You Inspect

You do not need to walk around with the standards document. Instead, use a structured snagging checklist aligned to the areas the standards cover, and report anything that looks wrong. The standards become your backstop when a fix is disputed — not your inspection manual.

For the room-by-room checks, our kitchen, bathroom, electrical, plumbing and window checklists cover the practical detail.

If your developer will not fix an item that you believe breaches the standards, follow the escalation steps in our how to report snags guide and refer the matter to the NHBC under your warranty.

Frequently Asked Questions