Homebuilders Toolkit Guidance on how to comply with the Consumer Code for Homebuilders

Transcription

1 Homebuilders Toolkit Guidace o how to comply with the Cosumer Code for Homebuilders

2 Homebuilder s checklist What you should do Display the Code to customers ad provide, without charge, a copy to those whoask for it ad oe to all who reserve. Trai staff who deal with your customers. Clearly display widow sticker i your site sales office or sellig aget s widow. Guidace Make sure you ad/or your aget have copies of the Code to display ad had out. Have you esured that your staff ad those who have bee appoited to act o your behalf to deal with customers, such as estate agets, are appropriately traied ad kowledgeable about the Code ad its requiremets? Builders are required to cofirm their commitmet to the Code. You ca achieve this by displayig the widow sticker. [see ote 1] Esure systems ad procedures are i place to meet Code requiremets. Make copies of Cosumer Code available. Provide site cotact details. Provide adequate pre-purchase iformatio. Update ad complete your Reservatio Agreemet. Have you a stock of the Cosumer Code requiremets to give to customers? Have you provided your customers with a way of cotactig someoe about the site or their ew home? Does this iclude iformatio o Reservatio Agreemet, summary of warraty cover, descriptio of maagemet services/orgaisatios for the home ad associated costs, list of cotets provided ad stadards to which home is beig built? Do you have your updated Reservatio Agreemets for your customers to complete, esured the clauses comply with the Code ad checked whether your sellig aget is istructed to use the Reservatio Agreemet? [see ote 2] Have Premier Guaratee iformatio available. Esure Health & Safety iformatio is available ad iform customers of ay Health & Safety issues. Provide clear ad truthful sales ad advertisig material. Advise customer to appoit professioal legal advisor. Keep customers iformed. Advise o completio dates. Arrage a formal hadover to the home buyer. Esure customer service ad compay cotact details are provided o legal completio. Have you iformatio that explais the Premier Guaratee Policy? Have you got iformatio to help people uderstad the Health & Safety issues o your site? If the occupied uit is o a active site, you must also tell the home ower about ay aspect of the site that might be dagerous. Are processes i place to esure that all sales ad advertisig material is checked for clarity ad is true, icludig material produced by sellig agets? You must allow the buyer to use their ow solicitor if they choose to do so. Are you regularly tellig your customer what build stage the home has reached? Have you advised your customer whe the home will be build-complete? A formal demostratio ad hadover process is a very importat part of iformig the customer o how to ru their home ad what to expect. Have you provided your customer with cotact iformatio, for both workig hours ad emergecy out-of-hours? [see ote 4] Co-operate with qualified, professioal advisors appoited by the home buyer as detailed i the Code. Notes How Premier Guaratee ca help you 1. Premier Guaratee ca provide post card sized widow stickers to help you with this. These are available free of charge direct from Premier Guaratee. 2. Premier Guaratee have prepared a template Reservatio Agreemet that complies with the Cosumer Code requiremets. This ca be used directly or as a template for you to adapt to your compay s style provided that the iformatio fields are kept. This, alog with some advice o Reservatio Agreemets, is available as a free dowload from 3. Premier Guaratee have prepared a brochure called Showhome Mailer, which cotais a explaatio of the isurace cover provided by Premier Guaratee to your customers. Cotact details for Premier Guaratee T E ifo@premierguaratee.co.uk W

3 Reservatio Agreemet Guidace otes Itroductio To help you comply with the Cosumer Code for Homebuilders we have developed a Reservatio Agreemet template that ca be adapted ad used by you. The template that we have drafted icludes the relevat elemets that are cosidered madatory uder the Code, plus some data-gatherig fields that would otherwise ormally be expected i a Reservatio Agreemet. The Reservatio Agreemet ca be dowloaded from the Premier Guaratee web site ad used without chage, or ca be used as a basis to create your ow Reservatio Agreemet documet. The template may ot suit every circumstace, but could be used as a guide. It is strogly recommeded that the madatory sectios of the template agreemet be kept so as to avoid the potetial of a claim by a home buyer for failure to comply with the Cosumer Code for Home Builders. It is the resposibility of each home builder to satisfy themselves that their Reservatio Agreemet complies with the Cosumer Code for Home Builders. This template is provided o the basis that Premier Guaratee does ot accept ay liability whatsoever or howsoever arisig from a Home Builder s use or adaptatio of this template. The recommeded madatory iformatio is as follows: Iformatio Commet Cosumer Code clause umber Cotact details for the builder Name, address ad telephoe umber as a miimum. 2.2, 2.6 Cotact details of the home buyer Name, address ad telephoe umber as a miimum. 2.6 Details of the plot beig Sufficiet iformatio to specifically idetify the developmet 2.6 purchased ad plot. Purchase price 2.6 Reservatio date The date o which the Reservatio Agreemet is siged. 2.6 Reservatio expiry date The date upo which the agreemet will automatically 2.6 termiate if the sale cotract is ot siged. Aticipated build The formal estimate of whe costructio will be completed. 3.2 completio date A explaatio ad a estimate Maagemet fees are usually oly appropriate for developmets 2.1, 2.6 of the maagemet fees with a maagemet compay whose activities are fuded by (if ad whe appropriate) regular paymets by the residets. Coditio 1 Cofirmatio of the home builder s obligatio uder the Code 2.6 that they will ot try to sell the property to someoe else whilst the Reservatio Agreemet is i place. Coditio 2 Cofirmatio of the home buyer s right to cacel the Reservatio 2.6 Agreemet at ay time Coditio 3 Cofirmatio of the right of the home buyer to get their reservatio 2.6 fee back, less the home builder s reasoable expeses i holdig the reservatio ope. Coditio 5 Clarificatio of how spoke statemets will be maaged. 3.1

4 Reservatio Agreemet Guidace otes cotiued Additioal importat commets Coditio 7 Cofirmatio to the home buyer that some This is ot specifically a Cosumer iformatio may be used by the Cosumer Code for Code requiremet, but is a coditio Home Builders Maagemet Board for the purposes of the Cosumer Code Scheme of customer satisfactio surveys. Rules that such iformatio is provided whe requested Sigatures This is a legal documet ad both parties must sig This is ot specifically a Cosumer to say that it is exchaged with full kowledge ad Code requiremet, but is stadard uderstadig. This icludes givig the home buyer practice to brig the legal documet a copy of the Code Requiremets. ito force. Additioal commets Choices A opportuity possibly to record the details of the stadard specificatio choices. Teure It is stadard practice to record the ature of the future owership of the property. Buyer 2 Useful if the property is beig bought i joit owership. Mortgage provider Solicitors details Extras Not always kow at this stage, but ca be a useful place to record iformatio. Not always kow at this stage, but ca be a useful place to record iformatio. It is importat to ote that the Cosumer Code for Home Builders does ot allow a home builder to restrict a home buyer s choice of legal advisor (Clause 2.5). A home builder may offer a list of stadard extras ad their cost. The Reservatio Agreemet may be a place to usefully record these.

5 Sample Reservatio Agreemet Subject to cotract All outlied fields are madatory Vedor s details Orgaisatio ame Telephoe Fax Plot ad reservatio details Developmet Name House type: Plot umber Price Plot address Reservatio date Reservatio expiry date Aticipated build completio date Reservatio fee Teure Freehold / leasehold Lease terms years Commecig o / / Iitial groud ret: per year Buyer 1 Buyer 2 Name Name Tow Tow: Tow Tow: Cotact umber Cotact umber Buyer s solicitor Vedor s solicitor Name of firm Name of firm Tow Tow: Tow Tow: Cotact umber Cotact umber Mortgage provider Name of firm Tow Cotact umber Tow:

6 Estimate of maagemet fees Isurace Lease/groud ret Maagemet services Widow cleaig Garde services Other Other Other Other Total estimate Coditios relatig to this Reservatio: 1. I retur for the buyer payig the reservatio fee, the vedor agrees to reserve the property at the purchase price util the reservatio expiry date. 2. The buyer has the right to cacel the reservatio at aytime. We have read, uderstood ad accept the coditios detailed o this Reservatio Agreemet. We cofirm that we have received a copy of the Cosumer Code for Home Builders. 3. If the buyer cacels the reservatio, the vedor agrees to pay back the reservatio fee less ay reasoable admiistrative ad other costs icurred i processig ad holdig the reservatio (show as estimated retetio). Siged Buyer 1 4. The reservatio deposit will be deducted as part paymet of the deposit due o Exchage of Cotracts. Buyer 2 Date / / 5. The buyer agrees to otify their legal advisor ad the vedor, i writig, prior to Exchage of Cotracts what spoke statemets, if ay, they are placig material reliace upo. Siged 6. The buyer is resposible for all costs ad expeses icurred by them i the purchase of the property, uless otherwise set out i the Reservatio Agreemet. Date Authorised vedor s represetative / / 7. The buyer cosets to the Reservatio Agreemet iformatio to be used by the vedor to progress the purchase, ad for use i customer surveys uder the Cosumer Code for Homebuilders, all such iformatio to be applied i accordace with the Data Protectio Act Siged Positio Date / / Data Protectio Act* We will aim to keep your persoal iformatio up to date, but rely o you tellig us promptly if your ame, address, telephoe umber or ay other details chage. We will ot pass your persoal iformatio to ayoe outside our group, except to third parties for the purpose of providig products, services ad/or marketig iformatio to you (e.g. professioal advisers, fiace providers, estate agets, recommeded suppliers). We may also copy this form to relevat third parties. Your persoal iformatio may be used by us ad ay of the persos metioed above for: iteral purposes ad to provide products, services ad/or marketig iformatio to you. Your persoal iformatio may also be used for research purposes ad to help us develop our website, products ad/or services. Please idicate your preferred method of commuicatio by tickig the relevat box: post; telephoe; . Please tick the relevat box if you do ot wish to receive marketig iformatio o properties, research, products ad/or services that might be of iterest to you from: us; our recommeded suppliers. Our full privacy policy ca be foud at: [Builder or Developer to isert the locatio of their privacy policy here] This is a legal agreemet; if i ay doubt as to its meaig or effect, the buyer should seek legal advice before sigig it. *Suggested wordig so as to esure compliace with the Data Protectio Act

7 Customer jourey The table below outlies the type of iformatio that is eeded ad at which stage of the sale ad occupatio process. This has bee developed to keep buyers well iformed. (pik idicates the requiremets of the Cosumer Code for Home Builders). Customer jourey best practice model Stage Recommeded iformatio Pre-reservatio equiry Brochure showig plot locatio, layout ad appearace Sales prices Maagemet ad service charges Summary of home warraty cover Specificatio ad cotets Iformatio o whe home will be fiished Cotact iformatio Copy of the Cosumer Code o request Reservatio Reservatio Agreemet Choices of fixtures ad fittigs Copy of the Cosumer Code Exchage Progress update Writte cofirmatio of verbal reliace Aticipated date of legal completio Pre-completio Iformatio o substatial ad sigificat chages Home tour Completio Hadover checklist Hadover pack Details of after-sales service Iformatio o how to get complaits resolved Cotact iformatio Ruig-i iformatio Health ad safety iformatio o live sites Post-completio Premier Guaratee Homeowers Hadbook* Premier Guaratee warraty documets Courtesy or service call or letter Customer satisfactio survey *Premier Guaratee. Homeowers Hadbook : a practical guide to lookig after your ew home.

8 Cosumer Code Brad guidelies Wheever you use or refer to the Cosumer Code, you should use the brad guidelies set dow by the Cosumer Code Maagemet Board. These are as show i the diagram below. The logo is available for dowload from the Cosumer Code web site at