New builds and warranties
You have heard the builder has stopped trading. Has the home survey told you whether a warranty still responds?
No. The home survey has not told you whether a warranty still responds. You have heard the builder has stopped trading, which is a rumour or a fact the inspection was not asked to prove. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The survey does not open a claim, and it does not read the policy to see who must answer if the builder has gone. Condition comments are not a statement that cover still responds.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
A warranty responds, or it does not, on its own wording and on notice to the provider. The surveyor looks at the building. They do not phone the warranty provider, check the premium, or interpret insolvency against the policy schedule. Hearing that a builder has stopped trading is a reason to ask those questions. It is not a finding already written in the home survey. Other brands are not Buildmark, so the policy in your pack has to be the one that is read.
Ask the solicitor to identify the actual warranty and to put the question to that provider: does cover still respond if the builder has stopped trading. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product, and only if that is the policy you hold. The survey does not open the claim. Do not tell a lender the inspection has confirmed the warranty. It has not.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Has your inspection told me whether any warranty still responds?
- Did you read a policy schedule, or only look at the building?
- Are you opening a Buildmark claim, or leaving that unopened?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not treat the survey as an answer on warranty response.
- Ask the solicitor to identify the policy and ask the provider.
- Keep Buildmark language for a policy that is actually Buildmark.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the builder's board is still on the gate, has the warranty been proved?
No. A board shows branding, not that a warranty responds after trading stops. The home survey has not told you that. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product, and the survey does not open a claim. A name on a hoarding is not the policy schedule the solicitor needs.
Does a snag list force the warranty to pay?
No. A snag list is a list of items. It does not decide that a warranty responds, and the home survey has not decided it either. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The survey does not open a claim. Payment, if any, is the provider's answer to the policy, not a conclusion of the inspection.