Govt publishes response to CMA housebuilding market study

The government has committed to making the New Homes Ombudsman a legal requirement and introducing a single mandatory consumer code for housebuilders, in a long-awaited response to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) housebuilding study.

In its response published today (October 22), the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said it agreed with the CMA’s assessment that “overall,” the housebuilding market was not delivering well for consumers “and has consistently failed to do so over successive decades”.

In accepting the CMA’s recommendation that the UK government should activate the New Homes Ombudsman Scheme, MHCLG said it would introduce secondary legislation “in due course”. It said it had been supporting the development of the currently voluntary New Homes Ombudsman Service, established under the independent New Homes Quality Board (NHQB).

The NHQB, which around 200 housebuilders have signed up to, has a New Homes Quality Code, which launched in 2022. MHCLG also approved of the CMA’s recommendation of a single mandatory consumer code for all housebuilders operating in Great Britain.

The introduction of both is being made in consultation with the Scottish and Welsh governments.

The CMA’s final report on the housebuilding market in Great …