New builds and warranties
What is the difference between the first two years of NHBC Buildmark and the later years?
NHBC describes Buildmark as 10-year warranty and insurance cover. For the first two years after completion the builder is liable to put right defects that are a breach of NHBC requirements, and NHBC guarantees that obligation. For the following eight years the insurance covers damage from defects in specific parts of the home set out in the policy, not every snag.
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?
The policy also describes cover between exchange and completion if the builder becomes insolvent. Those are different sections. A snagging list of sticking doors and scratched worktops sits naturally in the early builder period. A foundation defect is the sort of thing the later insurance section is written around, and only in the words of the policy. A RICS survey does not decide a Buildmark claim and does not replace the two-year duty.
If you are buying from the builder, ask which section you will be in on the day you complete. If you are buying from an owner a few years later, ask for the policy, the date of completion, and any claim already made. The survey tells you the condition now. The policy tells you who might have to pay. Read both. This page is not the policy schedule.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which defects look like present condition, regardless of who the policy says should pay?
- Are any of those defects things a warranty inspection would need to see before we cover them up?
- What documents should we ask the seller or the builder for?
What are the typical next steps?
- Get the Buildmark documents and the completion date, and read which section applies.
- Notify defects the way the policy requires. A survey is not a claim.
- Do not assume years 3 to 10 cover scratched glass or a dripping tap. Read the exclusions.
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
Does the two-year period start at reservation?
NHBC ties the builder warranty period to legal completion, not to the day you paid a reservation fee. Check the documents in case this home differs.
If the builder has gone bust in year two, who do you tell?
NHBC says it guarantees the builder’s obligations in that period. Follow the policy’s notification route. The surveyor is not that route.