"We paid £300k for brand new dream homes but shoddy builders left us living a nightmare"
- 8 months ago
Furious residents who paid up to £300,000 for new homes say they are living “in a nightmare” following a catalogue of building blunders.
Homeowners on the Broad Lea development on the edge of Worcester say their concerns about the state of their homes have been ignored for two years.
Residents have complained about flooding, dodgy electrics, a foul smell coming from the drains and ill-fitting doors, windows and carpets and crumbling brickwork.
Fed-up people who bought homes on the shared-ownership development have set up the Broad Lea and Oldbury Road Residents Group.
The action group are taking legal action against landowners Platform and developers United Living who opened the estate in 2021.
Pictures and videos have been catalogued by the residents of the 13 properties showing a string of alarming problems.
One clip shows water gushing from under the sink of one home which caused the entire ground floor to flood.
Another video shows a workmen emptying a cement mixture down a drain – fuelling fears a foul sewage odour is caused by blockages.
Other pictures show a floor being covered with a carpet which is too short, leaving the sharp grippers rods exposed.
Another snap also shows uneven brickwork outside and clumsily fitted hinges on a garden gate.
Many residents say dodgy plumbing regularly causes their bathrooms to flood leaving them with damp patches on the ceilings downstairs.
Bad drainage in the back gardens also means that when it rains “craters” fill will water leading to flooding of lawns and flower beds.
Residents also say the roads outside their properties are unfinished and peppered with potholes.
Homeowner Shaun Barnes, 35, said: "We have been fobbed off at every turn after complying with everything they have asked for at every turn. It has been horrific.
"Every private home on the development is involved in this action and we want answers.
“We are well and truly fed up, it has been two and a half years of being lied to.
"We saw shared ownership as a great way to get onto the property ladder, it was sold to us as a good opportunity.
"Unfortunately it has not been that, it has been extremely stressful and we feel like cash cows for massive companies."
The homeowners were given a 12-month defect period where they raised issues with the development.
They claim that in this time, barely anything was addressed, and after a 24-month defect period they are in the same situation.
Mr Barnes said: "Legal action is currently ongoing as it is the last thing we can try and do for a resolution.
"United Living and Platform have not met their own deadlines for sorting out the many issues so legal action is our last chance."
Another resident said: “Buying this property was the worst mistake of my life. I was sold a dream but I actually bought a nightmare.
“Everything in my house is badly done and almost every house on the development has suffered similar problems.
“In several of the houses the dodgy plumbing means the baths leak through to the living rooms.
“Our shower screen was incorrectly fitted so our bathroom floods every time we use it.
“More than two people’s boilers have had to be replaced because they broke.
“The joints on the floors don’t match, our carpet is too short so it’s frayed and the metal rods are exposed.
“Many of the windows in the houses have dropped and the finish on the brickwork and fencing outside is just terrible.
“We all complained to United Living and Platform but are just fobbed off or workmen turn up and do an even worse job.
“One workman was filmed pouring cement down a drain outside. We are already convinced the drains are blocked because the smell coming from is just terrible.
“The smell started in the bathroom but now fills every room in the house. It’s an absolute joke.”
Before legal action was sought, a formal complaint was submitted on behalf of the homeowners on April 21.
Paula Heatley, New Homes Delivery Director at Platform Housing Group said,
“Platform would like to thank the residents at Broad Lea for bringing their concerns to our attention.
"We understand their frustrations and are committed to working with them to try and resolve the issues raised.
"A plan is already in place to complete the agreed outstanding work, which has been shared with our customers.”
A spokesperson for United Living said: "We are aware of the issues that have been raised by the residents and continue to work with our client, Platform, to resolve these issues."
Homeowners on the Broad Lea development on the edge of Worcester say their concerns about the state of their homes have been ignored for two years.
Residents have complained about flooding, dodgy electrics, a foul smell coming from the drains and ill-fitting doors, windows and carpets and crumbling brickwork.
Fed-up people who bought homes on the shared-ownership development have set up the Broad Lea and Oldbury Road Residents Group.
The action group are taking legal action against landowners Platform and developers United Living who opened the estate in 2021.
Pictures and videos have been catalogued by the residents of the 13 properties showing a string of alarming problems.
One clip shows water gushing from under the sink of one home which caused the entire ground floor to flood.
Another video shows a workmen emptying a cement mixture down a drain – fuelling fears a foul sewage odour is caused by blockages.
Other pictures show a floor being covered with a carpet which is too short, leaving the sharp grippers rods exposed.
Another snap also shows uneven brickwork outside and clumsily fitted hinges on a garden gate.
Many residents say dodgy plumbing regularly causes their bathrooms to flood leaving them with damp patches on the ceilings downstairs.
Bad drainage in the back gardens also means that when it rains “craters” fill will water leading to flooding of lawns and flower beds.
Residents also say the roads outside their properties are unfinished and peppered with potholes.
Homeowner Shaun Barnes, 35, said: "We have been fobbed off at every turn after complying with everything they have asked for at every turn. It has been horrific.
"Every private home on the development is involved in this action and we want answers.
“We are well and truly fed up, it has been two and a half years of being lied to.
"We saw shared ownership as a great way to get onto the property ladder, it was sold to us as a good opportunity.
"Unfortunately it has not been that, it has been extremely stressful and we feel like cash cows for massive companies."
The homeowners were given a 12-month defect period where they raised issues with the development.
They claim that in this time, barely anything was addressed, and after a 24-month defect period they are in the same situation.
Mr Barnes said: "Legal action is currently ongoing as it is the last thing we can try and do for a resolution.
"United Living and Platform have not met their own deadlines for sorting out the many issues so legal action is our last chance."
Another resident said: “Buying this property was the worst mistake of my life. I was sold a dream but I actually bought a nightmare.
“Everything in my house is badly done and almost every house on the development has suffered similar problems.
“In several of the houses the dodgy plumbing means the baths leak through to the living rooms.
“Our shower screen was incorrectly fitted so our bathroom floods every time we use it.
“More than two people’s boilers have had to be replaced because they broke.
“The joints on the floors don’t match, our carpet is too short so it’s frayed and the metal rods are exposed.
“Many of the windows in the houses have dropped and the finish on the brickwork and fencing outside is just terrible.
“We all complained to United Living and Platform but are just fobbed off or workmen turn up and do an even worse job.
“One workman was filmed pouring cement down a drain outside. We are already convinced the drains are blocked because the smell coming from is just terrible.
“The smell started in the bathroom but now fills every room in the house. It’s an absolute joke.”
Before legal action was sought, a formal complaint was submitted on behalf of the homeowners on April 21.
Paula Heatley, New Homes Delivery Director at Platform Housing Group said,
“Platform would like to thank the residents at Broad Lea for bringing their concerns to our attention.
"We understand their frustrations and are committed to working with them to try and resolve the issues raised.
"A plan is already in place to complete the agreed outstanding work, which has been shared with our customers.”
A spokesperson for United Living said: "We are aware of the issues that have been raised by the residents and continue to work with our client, Platform, to resolve these issues."