Category Archives: Help to Buy

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17 Oct 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Barratt Homes, Berkeley, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Housing (local), Sleaze

The Great Help-to-Buy ripoff

“Building chiefs cash in on Help to Buy”

Bosses at Persimmon, Barratt and Bellway have been handed shares worth more than £12million.

Persimmon chief executive David Jenkinson exercised share options worth £10million under the housebuilder’s controversial bonus scheme, while two top Barratt executives received stock worth nearly £1million, and two Bellway bosses were handed performance-linked shares worth £1.6million.

The bonanza came just a day after Tony Pidgley, the founder and chairman of rival builder Berkeley, sold shares worth £42million.

His deal took the amount he has made from selling stock in the past two and half years to £166m.

Last night critics condemned the share awards, which came just a week after figures showed the rate of house building in the UK had hit a three-year low.

Developers such as Persimmon, Barratt and Bellway – but less so Berkeley – have also raked in record profits off the back of Help to Buy, a taxpayer-funded scheme that lends cash to buyers.

Reuben Young, a spokesman for housing campaign group Priced Out, said: ‘The scandal is these payouts are only made possible by Help to Buy, which has taken developer profits into the stratosphere by investing public money into rising house prices.’

Persimmon’s Jenkinson, 52, received 411,084 shares worth £9.7million at yesterday’s prices. After taxes he received 217,874 shares worth £5.2million and he is required to hold on to them for at last one year.

Barratt chief executive David Thomas received 64,182 shares worth £431,000 through a bonus plan and deputy chief Steven Boyes received 50,795 worth £341,000.

Bellway awarded 30,667 performance-linked shares worth about £1million to boss Jason Honeyman and 17,823 shares worth about £600,000 to finance chief Keith Adey.

The final amount of shares they receive will depend on whether they hit performance targets.

Meanwhile, Pidgley has sold shares in the past six months that have made him £79.2million.

That included 1m he sold in July for £37.2million and a further 1m on Tuesday for £42million, cashing in on his company’s rising share price.

The sales came after Pidgley previously sold a total of 2.5m shares for £86.8million in 2017 – taking the amount he has made since then to a staggering £166million.

The building firms declined to comment.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-7585531/Building-chiefs-cash-Help-Buy.html

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8 Oct 2019

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy

“First-time buyers using Help to Buy paying 10% more for homes than everyone else”

Catch 22: first-time buyers can buy only new properties; if they could get the discount on ANY property many would save at least 10% – and have none of the poor-quality build issues affecting new properties.

But developers won’t allow that!

“First-time buyers using the Help to Buy scheme in England are paying an average of 10% more than those buying a new home without Government support, figures suggest.

Those who purchased a new-build home in the past year using the scheme paid an average £303,450 each, significantly more than those who bought without Government help.

On average, the premium paid by those using the scheme was 10.3% in the 12 months to September 2019.

That’s according to a report on 41,500 new build properties, which also found huge price disparities between properties sold in London and the rest of the country. …”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/money/first-time-buyers-using-help-20536679

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17 Sep 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Housing (local)

“Help to Buy is not helping housing crisis, warn MPs”

As they say: No sh*t Sherlock!

“A parliamentary committee has slammed the government’s £12 billion Help to Buy scheme for tying up vast sums of money in a policy that has mostly supported homebuyers who could already afford to buy a property while failing to boost the provision of affordable housing or reduce homelessness.

The public accounts committee found that three fifths of buyers who took part in the scheme did not need it to buy a home. It said that the “large sums of money tied up could have been spent in different ways to address a wider set of housing priorities and focus more on those most in need”.

The committee has called on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to carry out a full evaluation of the scheme’s value and necessity before a new version of the policy is launched in 2021.

Shares in Britain’s biggest housebuilders, which sell a significant proportion of homes through the scheme, fell this morning on the report. Persimmon lost about 53p, or 2.5 per cent, to £20.48; Taylor Wimpey fell by 4p, or 2.4 per cent to 159p; Barratt Developments slipped 9¼p, or 1.4 per cent, to 641¾p.

Help to Buy was introduced in April 2013 in response to a fall in house sales following the financial crash of 2008, when a tightening of regulations around mortgage lending made it more difficult to buy a property. It was originally intended to run until 2015 but will now last for a decade.

The scheme offers buyers with a deposit of 5 per cent a five-year interest-free loan of up to 20 per cent of the purchase price, or 40 per cent in London. The loan must be repaid in full on the sale of the property, within 25 years, or in line with the buyer’s main mortgage if it extends beyond 25 years.

The current scheme, which runs until March 2021, is not means-tested and is open to first-time buyers and those who have previously owned a property. Buyers can purchase properties valued at up to £600,000. From March 2021, a new scheme which is due to run for two years, will be restricted to first-time buyers and will introduce lower regional caps on the maximum property value, while remaining at £600,000 in London.

Help to Buy has increased housing supply by an estimated 14 per cent. Since it launched, it has supported more than 220,000 home purchases. The government has issued loans with a total value of more than £12.4 billion.

However, the committee warned that the government has allowed the scheme to become a semi-permanent feature of the housing market without thinking through the changes needed to improve the value to be achieved from the scheme. There is also no plan in place to prevent a fall in supply when the scheme ends in 2023.

Research by the committee also found that should house prices fall or interest rates increase, the government could make a substantial loss on the scheme. It warned that homebuyers who have used Help to Buy might not be aware of the financial risks if interest rates change. It also found that buyers who wanted to sell their property soon after purchase might find that they were in negative equity as new-build properties typically cost 15 per cent to 20 per cent more than equivalent “second-hand properties”.

Meg Hillier, Labour MP and chairwoman of the committee, said that the scheme had “increased the supply of new homes and boosted the bottom line of housebuilders.” She added: “It does not help make homes more affordable nor address other pressing housing problems in the sector such as the planning system or homelessness”.

“The scheme exposes both the government and consumers to significant financial risks were house prices or interest rates to change. Better consumer protection needs to be built into similar schemes in the future.”

Source: Times (pay wall)

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4 Sep 2019

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Barratt Homes, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Housing (local)

“Barratt Developments shares slide on gloomy outlook with end of lucrative ‘Help to Buy’ scheme that helped triple profit on each home feared”

“… as one eagle-eyed hack pointed out today, before the taxpayer-funded scheme, Barratt made £14,000 profit on each house it built. Now, after six years of Help to Buy, it makes more than £50,000 profit per house. …”

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-7426533/Barratt-shares-slide-investors-fear-end-lucrative-Help-Buy-scheme.html?ito=rss-flipboard

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31 Aug 2019

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Housing (local), Inequality

“Help-to-buy loans benefited more rich than poor households”

“… More than 5,500 households with an annual income of over £80,000 have been given help-to-buy loans in the past year compared with 4,142 households earning less than £30,000, the government’s own figures have revealed. Well over 2,000 of the richest households who were awarded taxpayer-funded loans, allowing them to buy new-build houses with only a small deposit, had incomes in excess of £100,000. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/aug/31/help-to-buy-loans-benefited-more-rich-than-poor-households?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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31 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Economy, Help to Buy, Housing (local), Taylor Wimpey

Big developer CEOs offloading large blocks of their shares …

“Barratt Developments’ boss follows Berkeley founder’s lead and sells more than a third of his shares for £3.3m.

Barratt Developments’ boss has sold more than a third of his shares for £3.3 million.

David Thomas sold 500,000 shares for 660p each. He still has 823,000 Barratt shares worth £5.3 million.

The move came just weeks after Berkeley founder Tony Pidgley cut his stake in his company by a fifth – cashing in £37.2 million of shares.

The sales raise concerns that housing bosses believe the market has peaked.

And Taylor Wimpey warned rising costs and ‘flat’ house prices were putting pressure on its profits.

It reported first half sales of £1.7 billion, almost unchanged from the previous year, and said profits fell from £301 million to £299.8 million. The firm has proposed a 2019 dividend of 18.34p per share.”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-7306879/Barratt-Developments-boss-sells-shares-3-3m.html

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31 Jul 2019

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Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Housing (local)

“Young Britons believe dream of owning home is over, survey says”

“One of Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders has found that 70% of young people now believe that the homeownership dream is over for their generation.

Having carried out the largest-ever survey of potential first-time buyers, Santander said its own figures suggest less than 25% of 18- to 34-year-olds will be in a position to buy a home by the year 2026.

The Spanish-owned bank said that while 91% of the young people interviewed still aspire to own a home, over two-thirds said it was unlikely to happen unless they received the deposit from their parents. Back in 2006, around half of those under 34 were able to get on the property ladder, the bank said.

The study found that the sharpest fall in first-time buyer homeownership has been among those on middle-incomes – those earning between £20,000 and £30,000 this year. Of the new buyers who had been able to buy, two-thirds reported having household incomes of more than £40,000….”

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jul/31/young-britons-believe-dream-of-owning-home-is-over-survey-says?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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16 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Help to Buy

“Berlin buys 670 flats on Karl-Marx-Allee from private owner”

THAT’S how you do it NOT “Help Developers to Make Obscene Profits” aka Help to Buy!

“The state of Berlin has bought back 670 apartments on the historic Karl-Marx-Allee from a private owner after decades of property privatisation in the German capital.

A 1950s prestige project for socialist East Germany, the grand boulevard that stretches from the city centre to Friedrichshain in the east has been the frontline of a months-long fight over gentrification and rising property prices.

The struggle erupted last November when the property management firm Predac announced its intention to offload 700 apartments on the road to Berlin’s largest property company, Deutsche Wohnen.

Fearing rent increases, tenants organised protest marches and hung banners from their apartments, eventually pushing the city senate to block the sale.

After months of legal wrangling, the senate confirmed on Monday that three blocs containing more than 670 apartments would instead be purchased by the state-owned housing provider Gewobag.

While the price of the sale was not confirmed by either side, the move to renationalise the buildings on Karl-Marx-Allee is likely to come at a steep cost, with estimates ranging between €90m-€100m (£80m-£90m).

Berlin’s mayor said the move was indicative of a wider strategy to reacquire housing stock sold to private investors in the 1990s, following rapid rises in rental costs in the city in recent years.

“Berliners should be able to continue to afford living in the city,” said Michael Müller. “That is why it was and continues to be our intention to buy up apartments wherever we can, so that Berlin can regain control of its property market.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/16/berlin-buys-670-flats-on-karl-marx-allee-from-private-owner?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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15 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Housing (local), Persimmon

Times: “Persimmon faults are exposed on TV”

“Pressure is about to return to Persimmon, with a television investigation set to reveal more concerns about the quality of its properties and customer service.

Britain’s New Build Scandal, to be aired tonight on Channel 4 as part of its Dispatches series, will feature an inspection of a new Persimmon home that found 295 faults, 70 per cent of which were so serious that they violated building regulations, including a fire door that did not close, leaking sinks, unsealed showers and faulty waste connections.

Britain’s most profitable housebuilder is responsible for one in seven homes sold via the government-backed Help to Buy mortgage scheme and in February became the first to report an annual profit of more than £1 billion. Based in York and a member of the FTSE 100 index of leading shares, it was embroiled in a pay scandal last year when Jeff Fairburn, 53, chief executive at that time, was awarded £81.6 million under a long-term incentive scheme put together in 2012 and linked to dividends and the share price.

Persimmon apologised to the customers featured in the programme, including two whose home was uninhabitable for three months after buying it. “We fully accept that on too many occasions in the past we have fallen short on customer care and we can and will do better,” it said.

Last month The Times revealed Persimmon had removed complaints about the standard of its homes from Facebook after taking over the administration of a group targeting customers on the social media site.”

Source: Times, pay wall

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8 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Help to Buy, Housing (local)

“How Help to Buy can push homeowners into accidental arrears”

“…. A report released in June by the National Audit Office revealed systems to collect the interest on Help to Buy equity loans after the initial five-year interest-free period were not put in place for all homeowners when some of the loans were originally set up.

This led to approximately 739 households falling into arrears potentially without knowing it once their interest-free period came to an end.

Now, some of those same homeowners say they are experiencing a fresh raft of problems.

A report released in June by the National Audit Office revealed systems to collect the interest on Help to Buy equity loans after the initial five-year interest-free period were not put in place for all homeowners when some of the loans were originally set up.

This led to approximately 739 households falling into arrears potentially without knowing it once their interest-free period came to an end. …

Now, some of those same homeowners say they are experiencing a fresh raft of problems.

[The] Government had appointed mortgage and loan servicing company Target to administer the Help to Buy loans.

When a borrower takes a Help to Buy equity loan, their local Help to Buy agent then passes on their details to Target to administer the loan.

… This is Money asked Homes England how long it should take for details to move over from Help to Buy agents to Target. It also asked how many homeowners are still in arrears.

Homes England declined to answer both questions. However, a source close to the organisation said the delay is linked to the time taken to document a new homeowner with the Land Registry.

This is Money then approached Target directly. The administrator was asked how many direct debits had been set up, and what the average wait time was.

Target did not respond to these questions. Instead a spokesman said: ‘We are aware that Homes England has provided a response and we would refer you to that. At this stage we don’t have anything further to add.’

… The report suggested that Target, the organisation administering the loans on behalf of Homes England, was overwhelmed by the volume of queries from homeowners once they started redeeming their loans and paying interest.

At one point, approximately 25 staff were dealing with some 20,000 customer enquiries per month, the report found.

As a result the company had to triple the number of staff dedicated to administering the scheme to keep up with demand.

The report also suggests that the group’s process for recovering outstanding debts wasn’t up to scratch. Target did not use enforcement agents or share information with credit reference agencies, the auditor found.

The group has since responded to this stating that it does use enforcement agents but was unable to in this case due to contractual and policy limitations.

On top of this, Homes England itself had raised concerns over the accuracy and completeness of data held by Target.”

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-7199989/How-Help-Buy-push-homeowners-accidental-arrears.html

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4 Jul 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Persimmon

“Persimmon claims ‘around half’ its first-time buyers used Help to Buy as sales slip at the house builder amid quality and service revamp”

£77,000 profit per house, adding £30,000-plus to the cost of a new home, poor quality builds, CEO laughing all the way to the bank with his multi-million bonuses – what could possibly go wrong? Answer: nothing goes wrongfor Persimmon, because this government doesn’t just turn a blind eye, it actively encourages this behaviour by putting developers in the planning driving seat (in chauffeur-driven cars)!

“Over half of properties sold by housebuilder Persimmon in the first six months of this year went to first-time buyers, the group’s trading update reveals.

The group sold 3,082 homes to first-time buyers, representing 52 per cent of all private sales for the period.

Speaking to This is Money, a spokesman for Persimmon said ‘around 50 per cent’ of these first-time buyers used Help to Buy schemes to complete their purchase.

While the proportion of purchases being made via Help to Buy adds weight to criticisms that housebuilders are being propped up by the Government schemes, they appear to have done little to help to Persimmon’s overall performance in the first half of the year….

… Persimmon scored the worst figures of all the major house builders in a recent Home Builders Federation new homes survey.

The firm launched a review of its house quality and customer care functions in April. …”

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-7212547/Persimmon-claims-half-time-buyers-used-Help-Buy-snap-home.html?ito=1490

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27 Jun 2019

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy

“Victory for future homeowners as developers are banned from selling new leasehold houses – but existing victims of high charges are still waiting for help”

” … he move comes in the wake of an ongoing scandal that has seen developers take advantage of leaseholds to maximise profits, leaving 100,000 families facing crippling ground rents – and a difficulty selling.

All new-build houses will be sold as freehold, although the ban is not applied retrospectively, which means only future homeowners will benefit. Flats will still be able to be sold leasehold. …”

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-7188849/Developers-banned-selling-leasehold-new-build-houses.html?

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23 Jun 2019

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Accountability, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey

Developers holding Help to Buy purchasers to ransom

Just when you think all the juice had been extracted from buyers, another scandal pops up.

“Contracts for new-build homes and the industry-led code of practice that informs them are heavily weighted in favour of the developer. The Consumer Rights Act does not include new builds, giving buyers less protection than high-street shoppers, and each year hundreds of purchasers are left in limbo when a home is not finished in time. They can’t pull out and reclaim their deposit until building works look likely to exceed what’s known as the “long-stop” date – the final date by which a property can be finished, which is often buried in the small print.

This can be up to six months later than the legal completion date cited in the contracts, and the legal completion date is often months later than the estimates given when contracts are exchanged. Most mortgage offers are only valid for three months.

While purchasers are legally bound to the developer’s timetable for the exchange and completion of contracts and face substantial penalties if they delay, developers allow themselves generous leeway.

A completion date only becomes legally binding when the home is ready and a “completion notice” is served, after which purchasers have seven to 10 days to pay up or else face interest charges on the balance.

Nor are developers obliged to pay compensation for delays, unless the developer exceeds the “long-stop” date. Purchasers who have to proceed with the sale of their old home after exchanging contracts, or to rearrange a mortgage when their offer expires, can be left heavily out of pocket. …”

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/jun/23/new-build-homes-buy-delay-bill-developers?

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13 Jun 2019

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Accountability, Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Housing (local)

“Help to Buy: ‘Most users did not need help report finds’ “

“Almost two-thirds of homebuyers who used the government’s Help to Buy scheme could have bought a home without it, an official report has said.
However, they may not have been able to buy the house they wanted without the help, the report from the National Audit Office (NAO) found.

It also found that one in 25 of participants had household incomes of over £100,000.

The scheme did help boost the profits of building firms, the NAO said.

It was too early to determine if the scheme had delivered value for money for the taxpayer, the report said.

“Help To Buy has increased home ownership and housing supply, particularly for first-time buyers,” Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said.
“However, a proportion of participants could have afforded to buy a home without the government’s help.

“The scheme has also exposed the government to significant market risk if property values fall, as well as tying up a significant public financial capacity.

“The government’s greatest challenge now is to wean the property market off the scheme with as little impact as possible on its ambition of creating 300,000 homes a year by 2021,” he said.

By 2023, the government will have invested up to £29bn in the scheme, tying up cash which cannot be used elsewhere,” the NAO said.

Bigger firms made the most of the scheme.

Between 2013 and 2018 more than half the sales in England made by Redrow, Bellway, Taylor Wimpey, Barratt and Persimmon involved Help to Buy.

‘Housing bubble’

Persimmon is the biggest beneficiary, with almost 15% of the sales made under the Help to Buy Scheme.

Persimmon saw its annual profits top £1bn last year.

Mike Amey, managing director of global investment management firm Pimco, has told the BBC that profit on a house sold by Persimmon had trebled since Help to Buy was introduced, “roughly from £20,000 to £60,000”.

Fran Boait, executive director of campaigning body Positive Money, said: “It’s now beyond clear that rather than helping those who can’t afford to buy a home, Help To Buy has mainly been a subsidy for a housing bubble, benefiting property developers and existing home owners.”

The government’s investment is expected to be returned from the scheme by 2032 after it closes in 2023. However, the size of the loans mean it is very much exposed to the performance of the housing market.

From April 2021, the scheme will be restricted just to first-time buyers.”

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48610977

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6 Jun 2019

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Affordable and Social Housing, Cranbrook, Economy, EDDC, Help to Buy, Housing (local), Inequality

Cities (with highest wages) too expensive for young people to buy homes in

So, what happens when the towns and villages you do come from are just as expensive as Bristol (with wages in Exeter lower than those in Exeter)?

Well, in East Devon, you are mostly funnelled into Cranbrook – as that is where most so-called “Help to Buy” new homes are being built.

The national article uses an example of someone moving from East Devon to Bristol.

“More young people are getting stuck where they grew up or went to university because they cannot afford rents in places where they can earn more money, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank. It found the number of people aged 25 to 34 starting a new job and moving home in the last year had fallen 40% over the last two decades. …

In 1997, moving from east Devon to Bristol increased median incomes by 19%, but rising rents cut that increase to 1% in 2018. …

Landlords blamed the government for failing to sufficiently increase the supply of new homes. The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) also criticised measures which appear to be encouraging landlords to sell up, including reduction in mortgage interest relief for landlords and an increase in stamp duty.

“The biggest threat to rent levels are the policies being pursued by the government which are choking off the supply of homes for private rent as demand is increasing,” said the RLA policy director, David Smith.

The findings came as the affordable housing commission released research found 43% of all renters were now facing affordability problems and that 5.5 million renters were unable to buy a home of their own.

The commission, which was established by the Smith Institute thinktank and chaired by the crossbench peer Richard Best, said that when rents or purchase costs exceeded a third of household income for those in work, it could lead to financial difficulties and these problems became critical where housing costs were 40% or more of household income.”

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jun/06/high-rents-in-english-cities-forcing-young-to-stay-in-small-towns?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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27 May 2019

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Cranbrook, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Housing (local)

“Housing market ‘to be dealt a serious blow’ as most new home sales use Help to Buy scheme”

Many of the new homes in Cranbrook are bought using this scheme.

“Almost all new homes in some parts of the country are funded by the Help to Buy equity loan scheme, raising fears about a house price slump when the programme ends.

The Government lends buyers up to 20pc of the cost of a new-build house, meaning the would-be homeowner only needs a 5pc deposit and a 75pc mortgage. In London users of the scheme can borrow up to 40pc of a home’s value.

More than 97pc of new homes in Northampton were funded by Help to Buy last year, according to modular housebuilder Project Etopia. In Burnley the figure was 93.1pc, in Derby 92.4pc and in Warrington 91.4pc. …”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/consumer-affairs/housing-market-dealt-serious-blow-new-home-sales-use-help-buy/

Research has shown it adds on average £33,000 to the cost of a new home:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2019/04/14/help-to-buy-costs-first-time-buyers-an-average-33000-extra/

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18 Apr 2019

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Affordable and Social Housing, Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Section 106

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“End of Right to Buy set to increase demand for affordable housing”

“Affordable housing output needs to be increased as the Help to Buy scheme is wound down, according to property consultancy Savills. The Help to Buy scheme has been a major factor in helping young people to afford their own home in recent years. However, its eligibility criteria are set to be tightened in 2021 with the future of the scheme up in the air.

[Take this with a pinch of salt – those “affordable” homes are, on average £33,000 more expensive than they ought to be]:

https://eastdevonwatch.org/2019/04/14/help-to-buy-costs-first-time-buyers-an-average-33000-extra/

A report by Savills said that housebuilding in England may need to increase by up to a third between 2021 and 2025 to make up for the end of the current Help to Buy scheme. Emily Williams, associate director for residential research at Savills, said: “Private sector housebuilding for market sale has underpinned the rapid expansion in housing supply since 2013, including affordable housing delivery through Section 106. But that growth is slowing against market headwinds.”

http://www.room151.co.uk/brief/#end-of-right-to-buy-set-to-increase-demand-for-affordable-housing

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14 Apr 2019

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Developers/ Development, Help to Buy, Linden Homes

Linden homes: catalogue of serious problems in new Exeter home

“A new build owner has shared shocking pictures of her mouldy bathroom which came to light months after moving into what she thought would be a hassle free home.

Linda Hamlet claims the first problems began from the day she moved into the Linden Homes development Tithe Barn in Pinhoe, Exeter, when ‘snagging’ issues included being unable to lock her front door because it was misaligned.

Since then the main problem in three-bed semi-detached home has been four leaks, including from a u-bend which was not connected properly in the kitchen, and a rotten wall and mouldy floors in the ensuite and bathroom.

Linda said: “I went two months without being able to use the shower in our ensuite as they used mastic instead of grout after the first leak. At same time there was two botch jobs made with our leaking bathroom sink.

“I could smell a horrible smell in the bathrooms and it turns out it was because the floors were mouldy underneath. They were just going to regroup the tiles until I insisted there must be underlying damage. Then they only removed tiles and saw the stinking rotten wall.

“I have spent nearly £300,000 on a new house as I thought it would give me peace of mind because I could close the door and enjoy my life, but I haven’t been able to and now have a problem with missing pointing in the brickwork. I haven’t been given an apology and I haven’t been offered compensation.”

A Linden Homes spokesperson said: “We pride ourselves on the quality of our homes and our customer care. Our dedicated customer care team have been in regular contact with Ms Hamlet to rectify the minor faults in her property that have appeared during the snagging and defects period.

“We have worked to complete these items as quickly as possible, and with minimum disruption for the customer. We will continue to work with Ms Hamlet to ensure that any identified defects are resolved and any repairs are carried out, under the conditions of her warranty.”

https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/horrible-smell-led-new-home-2754859