New builds and warranties

The new-build garden holds water against the air bricks. Is that a warranty claim the survey has already won for you?

No, water held against the new-build air bricks is not a warranty claim the survey has already won. The survey can record that the garden level holds water at the air bricks. Winning a claim is a warranty step that has not been taken by writing that sentence. NHBC describes Buildmark as 10-year cover where that is the policy. The description does not mean this puddle has been accepted, paid or closed. The inspection has not won anything.

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?

Air bricks are there to ventilate. Ground or water held against them is a condition the surveyor can see without deciding whose policy responds. A new-build warranty, if you have one, has its own process, its own exclusions and its own people. The home survey does not open that process, run it, or collect it. Do not tell the developer the survey has already succeeded as a claim. Do not tell yourself that either. You have a note about water and air bricks.

Photograph the level against the air bricks, after rain if that is when it shows, and give that to the solicitor with the warranty papers for this plot. Ask them how a claim is actually raised, if one should be raised. Check the plot number on those papers. NHBC's 10-year description of Buildmark is not a decision on this garden, and another company's policy is not Buildmark. The survey has reported a level. It has not won a claim.

What should you ask your surveyor?

Did you see water, or a level, against the air bricks on this plot?
Have you stopped short of calling that a claim that has succeeded?
Which notes should the solicitor put with the warranty papers?

What are the typical next steps?

Record the water against the air bricks as a condition note.
Do not treat the survey as a warranty claim already won.
Ask the solicitor how any claim on this plot is actually raised.

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 says it will settle, has the claim been won?

No. A promise to wait is not a claim the survey has won. The water against the air bricks is still the observation.

Does every new home have Buildmark?

No. NHBC describes Buildmark as 10-year cover where that product applies. The survey has not established the policy, and it has not won a claim.