If your home is on a shared ownership lease, which includes an initial repairs period, we have set out a summary of what is covered below and some simple steps to follow to access this service. This service does not apply to customers on an older style of lease.
If you are not sure if you have the new style of lease, please check your lease or contact us.
Defects warranty period
If your home is still in the initial ‘defects warranty period’, which usually lasts for up to two years after the build has completed, please contact a member of the Customer Care team.
If you are outside of this period or the work is not classified as a defect, then it could fall into either structural and external repairs or general qualifying repairs and maintenance.
Structural and external
If your home is showing any signs of structural issues or external repairs, it is important that you report it to us quickly. It is likely that the work is covered under the new homes warranty, which usually lasts at least ten years after the build has completed. You also have some protection under your lease.
Find out which structural and external issues we are responsible for in your home
We may need to inspect your home to assess if it is covered by the new homes warranty and the terms of your lease. If it is agreed that the repair is covered by the new homes warranty, or in the case of subsidence or landslip, the building’s insurance, we will submit the claim on your behalf and, where your lease includes the initial repairing period, cover the costs of the excess.
If your home has been damaged by an insurable peril, like storms, floods or fire, then the work may be covered by buildings insurance. Please contact us to report insurance claims.
Qualifying repairs and maintenance
During the initial repairing period, we will also cover qualifying repairs and maintenance. These include repairing, replacing (if faulty) and maintaining fixtures and fittings that:
- Supply water, gas or electricity - for example sinks, baths or pipes, or stopcock failure
- Heat your home, for example a boiler or radiators, or storage heaters
It does not include:
- Installing other fixtures (such as kitchen cabinets) and fittings (such as a bed or sofa)
- Installing appliances that use your gas, electricity or water supplies, such as ovens or washing machines
- Repairs covered by the new homes building warranty or any other guarantee
- The costs of servicing (such as your annual boiler servicing)
- Where you have failed to carry out servicing
- Where you have caused the damage
The repairs allowance is £500 a year. If you have not made a claim against the allowance or claimed less than the allowance, we will roll over any remaining allowance up to a maximum of £500 to the following year. You can’t carry over more than £500 each year, however.
Claims will only be valid if the work is carried out by a Trustmark registered professional. Unless the work is an emergency, we recommend you submit your claim before completing the work.
For the full terms of what is covered, please check your lease. Please also see what work falls under the separate categories.
Making a claim under the initial repairing period
Please use the form and provide us with the details of the repair and photographs. For non-external and structural work, please also provide a quote from a Trustmark registered professional or, if the work was an emergency, the invoice.
Once we have received all the necessary information to assess your claim, we will contact you within seven working days to arrange an inspection for structural and external works. For qualifying repairs and maintenance, we will confirm if you can proceed with the work and then send us the invoice.
On receipt of the invoice and your bank details, we will arrange to transfer the money to your account.
If we don’t think the work is covered by the terms of the lease, we will also tell you this within seven working days of receiving all the necessary information and tell you how you can appeal if you don’t agree with our decision.