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House Builders off the hook
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With the onset of Autumn, longer nights and colder weather The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) did much to brighten the lives of those working in the building industry when it published the very positive results of its intensive investigation into UK house building. The report gave house builders a tonic in these rather dismal economic times.
Responding to the report Yvonne Orgill, Chief Executive of the Bathrooms Manufacturers Association (BMA) said “This is great news for us all in the building industry. Just what we needed. We have had a terrible twelve months. The shortage of mortgages, plummeting house prices and terrible weather have conspired to create a very difficult period. But this report, which has come at just the right time, has given the building industry a huge boost. The positive side effects for members of the BMA, UK bathroom manufacturers and suppliers, can only be good news.
Probe into Competition
The 179 page report reveals the results of the exhaustive investigation which was started in June 2007 and was designed to probe into possible competition and consumer protection problems which had been suggested in the home building industry.
The OFT conducted many interviews with both home buyers and homebuilders and conducted a mystery shopping exercise. Investigators were looking to see how well the market functioned and how well homes were built ‘fit for purpose’ and to a level expected by the homebuyer.
Key Findings
The investigation found “little evidence of competition problems” and that homebuilders in the UK do compete for sales against each other. No evidence was found that “individual homebuilders had persistent or widespread market power” or that they are able to “inflate prices through restricting supply.”
The self builder and small house builder were found to be key players in the market since they used land which would not be taken up by the larger developer. They were also found to be key to the developing need for zero carbon and sustainable homes.
With regard to faulty product the investigation did find some quality problems in plumbing, heating and major “functioning items”. For the individual house buyer these were major headaches but overall the incidences were relatively low in number.
The report did identify a small number of cases where more significant problems were encountered. To address these the building industry has already initiated moves to establish a code of conduct to ensure better levels of customer service.
A good result
“We are generally very pleased with the outcome of this report,” says Orgill. “Although bathrooms are not specifically mentioned this good result for the entire house building industry can only enhance the wellbeing of members of the BMA. We now have something good to talk about and perhaps a better feeling of confidence will help us ease our way out of the current gloom.”
Further Information
For further information please email info@bathroom-association.org.uk or
telephone 01782 747123 and visit www.bathroom-association.org

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