New builds and warranties
The brochure shows a porch the plot does not have. Has the survey treated the brochure as the specification that was built?
No. The survey has not treated the brochure as the specification that was built. The brochure shows a porch and the plot does not have one. The visit records the plot as it stands, without that porch. Sales artwork is not a specification and not a warranty schedule. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product where that policy applies. The survey does not open a claim and has not decided that a porch was promised in the contract.
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?
Brochures are marketing. Plot specifications, reservation forms and drawings are the papers that say what this address was supposed to include. A porch on a leaflet may be another house type, an extra, or an error. The survey does not choose among those. It says the porch is absent. Whether that absence is a breach is a contract question. Buildmark, if it is the policy you were offered, is not opened by the surveyor. This report has not divided that cover into stages.
Ask the solicitor for the specification, the contract drawings and any warranty schedule for this plot number, and compare them with the missing porch. Do not rely on the brochure. If a claim is appropriate, that is between you, the builder and the warranty provider. The survey will not lodge it. A lender should be shown the house that exists. The inspection has not upgraded a leaflet into the built record.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which document, other than the brochure, describes this plot?
- Is the porch named in the specification or only in the leaflet?
- Has anyone asked the survey to open a warranty claim?
What are the typical next steps?
- Compare the plot you saw with the specification, not the brochure.
- Ask the solicitor for the warranty schedule for this address.
- Do not ask the survey to open a Buildmark 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
Does the survey open a Buildmark claim for the missing porch?
No. The survey does not open a claim. NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product, and only where that is the policy on offer. The visit recorded that the plot has no porch while the brochure shows one. It has not decided the contract promised a porch, and it has not sent a claim to anyone.
Is a show-home photograph the plot you are buying?
No. A show home or a brochure image can include a porch this plot does not have. The survey treated neither as the specification that was built. It recorded the plot in front of it. Ask the solicitor which drawings bind this purchase. A photograph of a different house is not the specification and not the survey.