New builds and warranties
A crack appears in new render during year one. Who does NHBC say is first in line during those first two years?
The builder. In the first two years NHBC says the builder is liable and NHBC guarantees that obligation. A crack in new render during year one therefore goes first to the builder under that arrangement, not straight into the later insurance section. The survey can describe the crack. It does not file the notification, and it does not decide that every crack is covered.
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?
Year one sits inside the opening period NHBC describes for Buildmark, not inside the following eight years of insurance for damage from defects in specific parts only. The practical effect is who you tell. You tell the builder, in the way the policy and the contract describe, and NHBC's role in that period is to stand behind the builder's obligation rather than to be your first call for a decorating snag. This page does not say the calendar date the period started, so do not count year one from the reservation or from the day you first visited the site unless the certificate in your hand says that. The surveyor was not given that certificate to rewrite.
Describe the crack honestly: width, direction, whether it passes through render into something else, whether it has opened again after paint. Those are condition points. They are not a ruling that the crack is a breach of NHBC requirements, and they are not a ruling that it is only cosmetic. Let the builder respond. If they deny it, read how the policy says that denial is handled during the builder period. Do not skip to a years-three-to-ten mindset while year one is still year one. And if this home's warranty is not NHBC, the builder-first sentence is a Buildmark sentence. Another provider is not Buildmark.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Are you describing the crack rather than deciding it is covered?
- Who should the buyer tell first while the builder period still applies?
- Will you avoid dating the ten years from the reservation?
What are the typical next steps?
- Notify the builder about the year-one crack in the way the policy describes.
- Photograph the crack before anyone paints it.
- Do not treat year one as if the later insurance section had already started.
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 NHBC become the builder during year one?
No. The builder is liable, and NHBC guarantees that obligation. The builder is still first in line.
If the crack is hairline, is it automatically excluded?
The survey should not say so. Size is a description. Cover is the policy, not a guess from the rating.