New builds and warranties
A defect shows in year three. What does NHBC say changes after the first two years, and what must you not still treat as the builder's snagging list?
What changes is the route, not the crack itself. In year three you are past the opening period in which the builder is liable and NHBC guarantees that obligation. You must not keep treating the item as a handover snag for the site team to paint over. The following eight years insure damage from defects in specific parts only, which is narrower than a snagging list. This survey does not admit the claim.
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?
NHBC describes Buildmark as a 10-year warranty and insurance product. The first two years and the following eight are not the same kind of cover, and this page does not say which calendar day the ten years started. A defect that appears in year three has left the builder period as NHBC describes it. That does not mean every crack, scratch or cosmetic item becomes an insured loss. The later insurance is for damage from defects in specific parts only. A snagging list from handover is a different document, aimed at unfinished or unsatisfactory items while the builder was still first in line. Leaving an item on that old list does not keep it inside the first two years.
Read the section of the policy that matches a year-three complaint, notify it the way that section requires, and do not cover the defect up while you argue. The home survey, if you have one, can describe what is there now. It is not the claim form and it does not state a minimum claim value, because this page must not invent one. If the warranty on this home is not NHBC at all, do not use Buildmark's split. Another provider is not Buildmark, and year three on a different policy means whatever that policy says.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Are you describing the defect, rather than admitting an insurance claim?
- Which items would you still call snagging, as distinct from later damage?
- Will you avoid stating when the ten-year period started?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the policy section that applies after the builder period.
- Notify the defect the way that section asks, and do not cover it up.
- Do not keep a year-three item on the handover snagging list as if nothing had changed.
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 year three automatically pay for every leftover snag?
No. The later years insure damage from defects in specific parts only, not every snag.
If the policy is not NHBC, do these periods still apply?
No. Another provider is not Buildmark. Read that policy rather than copying NHBC's split.