New builds and warranties
The house is described as having Buildmark cover. Has the home survey opened a warranty claim, or only inspected the building?
The home survey has only inspected the building. It has not opened a warranty claim. The house is described as having Buildmark cover, and NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. Cover, if it applies to this address, is a claim you make under that product. The inspection can record a defect it saw. It does not start the claim, it does not fill in the warranty forms, and it does not decide that the policy will meet the cost.
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 survey and a warranty answer different questions. The survey says what the surveyor could see on the day, at the level instructed, with the usual limits on opening-up and on testing services. Buildmark, where it is the policy, is NHBC's warranty and insurance product running for the period NHBC describes as ten years. Whether a particular crack or a particular leak falls inside that cover is a question for the warranty arrangements, read against the policy, not a box the survey ticks by mentioning the name.
Ask your solicitor for the policy schedule for this address and for what, if anything, has already been notified. If you intend to claim, follow the warranty route with the defect described. Do not wait for the home survey to lodge it. The surveyor was not instructed as a claims inspector. Give the insurer or NHBC, if that is the contact the policy names, the facts. Do not tell them the survey has already opened the claim. It has not.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did your inspection open a Buildmark claim, or only inspect the building?
- Which defects did you see that a warranty contact might need described?
- Have you seen the policy schedule, or only heard that cover exists?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the survey as an inspection, not as an opened claim.
- Ask the solicitor for the Buildmark schedule for this address.
- Follow the warranty route separately if you decide to claim.
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 report names Buildmark, has the claim been started?
No. Naming the cover records what the house is described as having. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The survey has not opened a claim under it by writing the name. Writing the product name does not lodge anything with NHBC.
Does a Level 3 defect automatically fall inside the ten-year cover?
No. The survey finds a defect. The policy decides what it covers. The home survey has not made that decision and has not opened the claim. Read the schedule for this address rather than assuming the rating is enough. Whether cover responds is read from the schedule, not from the rating.