A HOLYROOD committee has called for greater support for homebuyers after hearing from distressed homeowners about building defects and poor build quality.
In the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the committee has also recommended that a new inventory of high rises in Scotland be regularly updated for speedy access to vital safety information.
In a wide ranging report, the Local Government and Communities Committee identified a number of improvements that could be made to building regulations and fire safety standards in Scotland.
“Our committee heard directly from homeowners and some said that they discovered their homes did not meet the standards set out in the original building warrant, despite receiving completion certification,” said convener Bob Doris MSP.
“It is understandably distressing for homeowners to subsequently discover that their brand new home has serious building defects. A new home can be the purchase of a lifetime and that’s why finding any kind of significant issue can be utterly devastating.
“That’s why one of our key recommendations is to give homebuyers much more information on their rights when buying a new-build home and what they can do when things go wrong.”
The committee has also called for a Clerk of Works to become a more familiar face on building sites across Scotland to provide an independent quality check on building compliance, especially on large-scale blocks of accommodation or public sector projects that have significant costs.
As a result of the Grenfell Tower disaster, the committee took the decision to extend its building regulations inquiry to examine fire safety standards in Scotland.
“The committee is supportive of unannounced inspections as part of the overall approach to national fire safety,” said Doris. “We also believe there is a powerful case for the new inventory of high rises in Scotland to be regularly updated and for access to vital safety information to be speedily accessible.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here