Last edited 05 Jun 2019

National House Building Council NHBC

The National House Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) was established in 1936. It was originally created to tackle poor building practices during the inter-war years in the belief that improving professionalism and care amongst home builders would produce a better built product. It was a form of voluntary self-regulation, with the motto ‘Cavendo tutus’ - ‘be safe by taking care’.

The NHBRC was renamed the National House Building Council (NHBC) in 1973. Today, it is the UK’s largest warranty and insurance provider for UK house-building for new homes through its Buildmark products. It is also the largest single approved inspector for the Building Regulations. NHBC is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee, with a stated purpose of working with home builders to give homeowners confidence in the quality of new homes.

NHBC roles and responsibilities include:

Registering house builders.
Setting and raising standards for construction.
Inspecting homes independently during construction and after completion.
Promoting best practice.
Providing warranty and insurance cover for new and newly-converted homes.
Providing research, analysis, feedback and practical guidance.
Protecting consumers through the Buildmark warranty.

The NHBC business strategy sets out four main pillars:

Researching the industry to provide homeowners with better access to information to help manage their homes. Understanding consumer needs to develop products that better meet these needs.
Ensuring the capital position is be sufficient to support the organisations objectives.
Working closely with the government to help shape the future of the house building industry.
Setting technical requirements, performance standards and guidance for the design and construction of houses that are acceptable to NHBC, supported by guidance notes, videos and other supplementary material.

NHBC is run by a board of directors on a day-to-day basis. They are accountable to a council of members consisting of groups who have an interest in improving UK house building. Representatives include architects, consumer groups, house builders, law societies, mortgage lenders, surveyors and so on.

In February 2017, NHBC launched an online MMC hub to help inform house-builders about modern methods of construction. Standards manager Paul Cribbens said; “We hope that the new hub will act as the leading resource for manufacturers wanting to apply for a review, with details of the building systems currently accepted together with the very latest research.”