The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) committee has told the government to ensure the quality of new homes being built is maintained.
The committee wrote to Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook, expressing concern around the “mounting pressure” on housebuilders to build at pace, saying this could “compromise standards”.
It said, currently, around 200,000 new homes were being built each year, below the 300,000 per year needed to reach the government’s target of one-and-a-half million homes in five years.
The committee said previous expansions in housebuilding had coincided with a fall in customer satisfaction with the quality of new builds. It said even if the incidences of defects were low, this would have a “profound impact on buyers and public confidence in the market”.
The HCLG committee said there was a need to boost housing supply, but this must be done to ensure homes are of good quality and reflect the needs of the population.
It said: “A failure to do so could see us wasting money by building homes we will need to put right in the future. The government needs to go further to ensure there is a robust regulatory framework to ensure the quality of new homes built over this Parliament and beyond.”
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The committee also recommended that the planned introduction of a statutory ombudsman be effective by 2028/29, with all developers signed up. It said this would give people buying a new home a stronger route to redress.
It wrote that it was not convinced that enough new homes would be wheelchair accessible and said it was disappointed that the government was not planning to introduce a minimum quota.
The committee asked the government to explain how mandating this would impact the delivery of new homes.
The HCLG committee also expressed concern that new homes did not sufficiently mitigate the risks of homes overheating.
Florence Eshalomi MP, chair of the HCLG Committee, said: “Progress towards delivering the government’s national target to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament is crucial. However, in our evidence we heard concerns about the quality of new homes, including major defects and safety issues as well as problems with damp and mould. We also heard the dissatisfaction and frustration felt by homeowners when these issues are not dealt with effectively.”
She added: “Boosting housing supply will play an important role in improving housing conditions overall. But the government needs to go further to ensure that new homes are of good quality and reflect the changing needs of our population, including homes that are adaptable and accessible, and of our climate.
“We hope the government will act on our recommendations to ensure homes are fit for the future and we look forward to questioning the Housing Minister as part of our condition of homes inquiry later this year.”