Selling a home you bought new is mostly the same as any other sale, but it comes with some extra paperwork. The buyer’s solicitor will ask about the build warranty, the estate management company, roads and sewers that may not yet be adopted, and any developer restrictions in your title. If you bought with a Help to Buy equity loan, that has to be repaid too. This guide explains what to expect and how to get ready.
Selling a new build house: what’s different
People sell homes they bought new for all sorts of reasons, and often within the first few years: a new job, a growing family or a relationship change. Because the home is recent, the buyer’s solicitor has more to check than on an older house. The development may still be being built, roads and sewers may still belong to the developer, and the title often contains obligations that are new to most sellers.
None of this usually stops a sale, but each item can add time if it’s left until a buyer is found. The best thing you can do is gather your purchase paperwork and instruct a solicitor when you put the home on the market.
How to sell a new build home: the main steps
- Check your title and purchase file. Look out the documents from when you bought: the transfer, warranty certificate, planning information and management company details. We check the title for restrictions that affect a sale.
- Deal with Help to Buy, if you have it. If you have an equity loan, start the repayment process early. You’ll need an independent valuation and the scheme’s permission to redeem.
- Instruct us and complete the forms. We carry out ID checks and send you the property forms (TA6, TA10 and TA7 if leasehold). We contact the management company for the information buyers will ask for.
- Accept an offer and send the contract pack. We send the buyer’s solicitor the contract pack, including warranty, estate management and road and sewer information.
- Answer enquiries and exchange. We answer the buyer’s enquiries, arrange any certificate of compliance or deed of covenant, and exchange contracts once everyone is ready.
- Complete. On completion we repay your mortgage and any equity loan, pay any other agreed costs and send you the balance. You hand over the keys and warranty documents.
Does the new build warranty transfer to the buyer?
Most new homes come with a structural warranty from a provider such as NHBC, Premier Guarantee or LABC Warranty. The cover typically lasts 10 years from when the home was finished. In the early years the builder is usually responsible for putting right defects, and after that the policy mainly covers certain structural problems. The details depend on the policy.
Any remaining cover normally passes to the next owner without them having to buy a new policy, and the buyer’s lender will want to see it. Keep these documents safe and send copies to us:
- The warranty certificate or cover note, showing the start date and policy number.
- The policy booklet or terms.
- Any claims you have made or defects you reported to the developer, and how they were resolved.
- Guarantees and manuals for the boiler, appliances, windows and any solar panels or heat pump.
- The EPC and any building regulations completion certificate issued when the home was built.
Estate management charges and the management company
Many new estates have open spaces, play areas, private roads or drainage that the council doesn’t maintain. Instead, a management company looks after them and homeowners pay a yearly estate charge or rentcharge. The buyer’s solicitor will want to know who the company is, what you pay, whether you’re up to date, and what is planned. We usually get this from the management company in a management information pack, which often comes with a fee.
Some developers’ transfers go further. Your title may carry a restriction saying the sale can’t be registered unless the buyer signs a deed of covenant promising to pay the charges, or unless the management company provides a certificate of compliance. This confirms the charges are paid and the requirements are met.
Allow time and money for certificates
Management companies usually charge for the information pack, the deed of covenant and the certificate of compliance, and some take several weeks to respond. Any arrears normally have to be paid before the certificate is issued. Without it, the buyer can’t register their ownership, so their solicitor won’t complete. We check for these restrictions at the start and tell you in your quote what to expect.
Unadopted roads, sewers and outstanding snagging
On a new estate, the roads and sewers are often built by the developer and only later taken over, or adopted, by the council and the water company. This normally happens under a section 38 agreement for roads and a section 104 agreement for sewers, usually backed by a bond so the work can be finished if the developer doesn’t do it. Until adoption, the buyer’s solicitor will ask whether these agreements and bonds are in place, because their lender will want to know who maintains the road and drains in the meantime.
Buyers will also ask about snagging. If anything is still outstanding from your snagging list, or you have an open complaint with the developer, tell us. It’s best to chase the developer to finish the work before you sell. Where it isn’t finished, be open about it in your answers.
Keep copies of your emails and letters with the developer and the warranty provider. If a defect was reported in the early years, the buyer’s solicitor may want to see that it was put right, or that a claim is still open and will carry on for the new owner. A clear paper trail answers these questions quickly and gives the buyer confidence in the home.
Planning conditions and restrictions on alterations
The planning permission for the estate may include conditions that still apply to your home. Examples include keeping a garage for parking, keeping landscaping in place or removing permitted development rights, which means even small extensions need planning permission. Transfers on new estates also often contain covenants, such as not altering the outside of the house, not putting up fences in front gardens, or not parking caravans or vans on the drive. Some need the developer’s consent while the estate is being built.
If you have built a conservatory, converted a garage or made other changes, the buyer’s solicitor will ask for planning permission, building regulations approval and any consent the covenants required. Where consent wasn’t obtained, we can advise on options, which may include retrospective consent or indemnity insurance.
Selling a leasehold new build flat or house
If your new build is leasehold, the buyer’s solicitor will review the lease closely. Leases granted since mid-2022 generally have a nil (peppercorn) ground rent under the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022. Older new build leases may have ground rent that doubles or rises in a way lenders dislike. If yours does, tell us early. A deed of variation with the landlord may be needed before some buyers’ lenders will agree to lend.
Some leases also require the landlord’s permission before you sell, or a formal notice and fee after completion. The landlord or managing agent provides a management pack, which can take time. See our leasehold page for more.
Selling a Help to Buy home: repaying the equity loan
If you bought with a Help to Buy equity loan, you must repay it when you sell. The amount isn’t the sum you originally borrowed. It is a share of the home’s value at the time you sell, matching the share the loan represented when you bought. So if your home has gone up in value, you’ll repay more, and if it has fallen, less.
- You make a redemption request to the scheme administrator for England. Help to Buy in Wales is a separate scheme with its own process.
- You need a valuation by an independent RICS-registered surveyor who meets the scheme’s rules. The valuation is only valid for a limited time, so the sale and repayment must happen before it runs out, or a new one may be needed.
- The administrator confirms the amount and issues the paperwork your solicitor needs. We then repay the loan from the sale money on completion.
Start the equity loan process early
Delays in getting the valuation or the administrator’s approval can hold up exchange. Start as soon as you have an offer, or before, and send us the paperwork as it arrives. Check the current rules on the scheme’s official website or GOV.UK, as the process and time limits can change.
Selling while the estate is still being built, part-exchange and buyers’ mortgages
If the developer is still building and selling homes, you may be competing with brand-new houses on the same estate, often with incentives. Your transfer may also contain rules that apply until the development is finished, such as limits on “for sale” boards. Check your title or ask us before you instruct an agent.
If you are buying another new build, the developer may offer part-exchange, where they buy your current home. It can make for a simpler move with no chain, but the price offered is often below what you might get on the open market. We can still act for you on the legal side of the sale.
There is good news for your buyers. Once a home has been lived in, many lenders no longer treat it as a new build. They may lend on standard terms and won’t need the developer’s new build paperwork, which can widen the pool of buyers. For more on our new build work see new build conveyancing, and for selling generally see selling with Vecta Law. When you’re ready, get a quote.
Common questions
Yes. There is no general rule stopping you selling a new build early. Check your title and any Help to Buy or shared ownership terms, which have their own processes. Some developers’ transfers include rules that apply while the estate is still being built. Your buyer’s lender may also look at the price you paid against the sale price, so keep evidence of any improvements you have made.
Usually, yes. Structural warranties from providers such as NHBC, Premier Guarantee and LABC Warranty normally run for a fixed period from when the home was built, and any remaining cover passes to the next owner. Give us a copy of the warranty certificate and policy documents so the buyer’s solicitor and lender can check the cover and the dates.
Some new build titles have a restriction meaning the sale can’t be registered until the management company or developer confirms its requirements have been met. That usually means estate charges are paid up and the buyer has signed a deed of covenant. The management company usually charges for this and can take some weeks, so we check for it at the start of your sale.
You apply to the scheme administrator to redeem the loan and get an independent valuation from a RICS-registered surveyor who meets the scheme’s rules. You repay the same share of the sale value that the loan represented when you bought. The valuation is only valid for a limited time. We repay the loan from the sale money on completion, once the administrator has confirmed the amount.
This is common on newer estates. The buyer’s solicitor will ask whether there is a section 38 agreement for the roads and a section 104 agreement for the sewers, and whether a bond is in place. We get this information from the developer, the council or the water company. Where agreements are missing, we discuss options with the buyer’s solicitor.
Not usually, but there is more paperwork for the buyer’s solicitor to check. The common sticking points are management company information, certificates of compliance, unadopted roads and sewers, and Help to Buy repayment. Gathering your purchase documents and instructing a solicitor when you go on the market gives you the best chance of avoiding delays once you have a buyer.
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This guide is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Have a question? Read our FAQs or ask us.
