New builds and warranties
What is the difference between a building-control completion certificate and a new-build warranty?
A completion certificate is the building-control record that the work signed off under the building regulations. A warranty is an insurance or builder product, such as NHBC Buildmark, with its own sections and exclusions. You can have either one without the other. A home survey is a third document and replaces neither.
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?
GOV.UK explains building-regulations approval as the way building work is approved. It is not a 10-year insurance policy. NHBC describes Buildmark as warranty and insurance, which is not a completion certificate. A surveyor may see a house that looks unfinished, or a house that looks complete and still lacks paper. They cannot download the certificate from the council as part of the inspection.
Your solicitor asks for both papers on a new home, and for any planning consent. If one is missing, do not translate that into a condition rating the surveyor did not give. If the survey has found a defect, do not ignore it because a certificate exists. Certificates and warranties do not stop a later leak. They tell you who to talk to about the work that was signed off.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What looks incomplete or defective on site, whether or not the paper exists?
- What paperwork are you not able to confirm?
- Which findings should we send the builder, as distinct from findings the solicitor must chase?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the solicitor for the completion certificate and the warranty schedule.
- If the survey found defects, notify the builder in the way the contract requires, and keep the survey attached.
- Do not move in and start alterations that would muddle a claim before the notices are sent.
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 a habitation certificate mean the survey can be skipped?
No. Occupying the house and understanding its defects are different. The certificate is not a Level 2 or a Level 3.
Can the surveyor issue the completion certificate?
No. Building control does that. The surveyor reports condition.