Persimmon to allow new homebuyers to hold back money until faults are fixed

Customers' to keep 1.5 per cent of purchase price as housebuilder aims to restore reputation that has been dogged by complaints of poor build quality

Persimmon will allow new homebuyers to hold back thousands of pounds of the purchase price until they are happy faults have been fixed.

The housebuilder has been dogged by complaints about poor build quality, leading to speculation it might be kicked off the government’s Help to Buy scheme.

The government loan subsidy for newbuild homes has been a source of record annual profits of £1.1bn for Persimmon, which in turn have fuelled huge executive pay packets.

Under the housebuilder’s new plan, from July homebuyers’ solicitors will keep around 6 per cent of the build cost of every new home until any faults identified are fixed.

The withheld amount is 1.5 per cent of the total purchase price and will be equivalent to an average of £3,600 per property.

The FTSE 100 company will be the only large housebuilder to have this kind of retention scheme in place.

Persimmon will be hoping it goes some way to restoring trust in the company. Of 750 reviews on the TrustPilot website, just 36 per cent rate Persimmon as “excellent”, compared with 58 per cent describing the company as “poor” or “bad”.

Persimmon‘s renewed attempt to win over customers comes after former chief executive Jeff Fairburn stepped down earlier this year. His £75m bonus had become a “distraction”, the company said.

Chief executive Dave Jenkinson said: “Persimmon is listening hard to all of its stakeholders and we hear the message that we need to continue to raise our game in customer care.

“The initiatives we have already announced – including the action taken in the new year to deliver greater accuracy of anticipated moving-in dates by adopting a more targeted approach to the phasing of sales on specific sites and the improvements and investments that we have made in our customer care team, operations and technology over the last few months – are beginning to take effect.

Former chief executive Jeff Fairburn scooped a £75m bonus but the build quality of Persimmon’s homes has been criticised (BBC)

“We are now accelerating the pace of change through the introduction of a contracted retention, which will give homebuyers far greater satisfaction at the completion of the purchase.

“Moving into a new home should be a positive experience enhanced by all the benefits of a new build that is designed for modern living.”