Persimmon apologises over Help to Buy faults
Housebuilding giant Persimmon has been forced to apologise to Help to Buy customers after it was revealed that new homes built by the company were riddled with faults.
Persimmon builds more Help to Buy properties than any other developer but an investigation by Channel 4 found that one new build home had a total of 295 snags.
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The developer makes an average of £66,000 profit for every Help to Buy home it sells, a return of 30 per cent, which is higher than any of its competitors.
Former chief executive Jeff Fairburn was slammed after it emerged that he pocketed a £75m bonus which was boosted by the company’s lucrative involvement with the government scheme.
An investigation by Channel 4 found that one new build Persimmon home had a total of 295 “snags”, with 70 per cent of the errors so serious that they fell outside building regulation “tolerance” limits.
Snags included a fire door that did not close, leaking sinks in every bathroom, showers that were not sealed and faulty waste connections, according to the Dispatches investigation which will be broadcast this evening.
Responding to the Dispatches investigation, Persimmon, which builds one in seven of the homes built under the scheme, said: “We fully accept that on too many occasions in the past we have fallen short.
“We apologise without reservation to the customers featured in this programme.”
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Housing minister Kit Malthouse told Dispatches: “I expect all developers to deliver good quality housing on time, and to treat buyers fairly.
“It’s unacceptable if they deliver anything less. We know more needs to be done to protect buyers and our New Homes Ombudsman will protect the rights of homebuyers and hold developers to account.”