New builds and warranties
An NHBC claim is already open on the roof. Why does the home survey not run that claim, and not close it?
Because an NHBC claim is already open on the roof, the home survey neither runs that claim nor closes it. The claim sits with the warranty process. The inspection records the roof it could see. NHBC describes Buildmark as 10-year cover. That description does not make the survey the claims handler, and it does not mean an open file has been finished because a surveyor visited. Opening, running and closing the claim are outside the report. The roof note is not a decision on the file.
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?
Buyers want the PDF to say the claim is won, or to say it can be ignored because the surveyor thought the roof looked acceptable on the day. Neither sentence is the survey's to write. An open claim is a fact to pass to the solicitor and to the warranty route. The survey can say what it saw: covering, flashings, staining, unfinished items. It cannot progress the claim or mark the file shut. Buildmark's 10-year description is NHBC's, not an outcome the inspection has delivered.
Send the claim reference and the roof comments to the solicitor together, and ask them how the open file sits alongside the purchase. Do not tell the developer the survey has closed the claim, and do not tell NHBC the survey has replaced their inspection of it. If the roof still shows the defect the claim is about, say that plainly, without turning it into a claims verdict. The home survey has not run the file and has not closed it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you see the roof, rather than the claim file?
- Which roof comments should sit beside the open claim, without closing it?
- Are you silent on whether the claim is accepted or shut?
What are the typical next steps?
- Tell the solicitor the NHBC claim is still open.
- Do not treat the home survey as running or closing that claim.
- Keep the roof condition note separate from the claims decision.
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 roof looks repaired, has the claim been closed?
No. A roof that looks better on the day is a visual note. It does not close an NHBC claim the survey does not run.
Does Buildmark's 10-year description mean this defect is covered?
Not from the survey. NHBC describes Buildmark as 10-year cover. Whether this open roof claim succeeds is the warranty file, not the home survey.