Last updated 05:36, Friday, 04 July 2008

Seven out of 10 people who buy a new home find faults with their property and a third face delays in moving in.

New for you: But not all new builds come up to scratch and some buyers have to wait months before faults are put right

About 70 per cent of people purchasing a new-build home said they uncovered problems, with most people finding up to 10 faults, while others uncovered up to 50, according to the Office of Fair Trading.

Problems ranged from fairly minor issues such as dissatisfaction with the decoration and plasterwork, to more major ones, including problems with central heating and hot water, damaged or faulty kitchen units and appliances, faulty electric sockets and problems with windows.

The OFT found that while the majority of these issues were fixed by housebuilders relatively quickly, some homeowners had to wait for between six months and a year, with a small proportion having to spend more than £1,000 getting the problems sorted out.

The survey also revealed that 32 per cent of homebuyers had not been able to move into their new home on the date they were initially told, with 28 per cent having to wait an additional two to four months, while three per cent were delayed by more than a year.

It was also highly unlikely that people received any compensation from their housebuilder for the delay, despite 37 per cent of people saying they incurred costs as a result, with 45 per cent paying out more than £1,000 and two per cent shelling out more than £10,000.

But despite the problems people ran into, 80 per cent said they would be likely to buy a new-build home again, although only 60 per cent would recommend their current builder to someone else.

The report was part of the OFT’s market study into competition and consumer protection in the housebuilding industry, which is due to be published in September.