Angry couple's signs warn buyers to steer clear of "shoddy' homes

NOW HOUSING MINISTER PLEDGES ACTION TO HELP

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

A FURIOUS couple have put signs outside their house to "put people off" moving on to their new-build estate.

Because of issues with the new homes, one MP now says councils should reject planning applications from companies causing "persistent problems One major developer says it is taking the concerns "seriously".

Simon and Kelly moved on to the Bilsthorpe Chase estate in October.

They wanted a newly built home because of their disabled son, thinking a new build would not need much adjusting.

But since moving into their £300,000 house, they say they had issues ranging from their back garden flooding to a broken boiler sending a "sinking Titanic" sound through their home.

One sign on the outside of the house reads "SHODDY HOMES!" and another claims that developer Harron Homes "treat their customers with the utmost disrespect".

The couple claim they have even obtained an email in which a former employee at Harron Homes allegedly described them as a "pain".

The couple spoke out after their MP organised a debate in Westminster Hall on March 25 about construction standards in new-build homes.

Raising Kelly and Simon's case in the debate, Labour MP for Sherwood Forest, Michelle Welsh, said: "When moving into a new home, a high quality and safe living environment is expected.

"We should not be expecting anyone to live in properties that do not meet these standards. What has further shocked me about this case is the treatment of my constituents by Harron Homes.

"In an email, Kelly and Simon were described as 'a pain' and they have had to wait weeks for repairs, and even just for a response. They deserve better, yet they are not alone in their experience."

Simon, 53, says problems he and his family faced included an incorrectly fitted and sized boiler cylinder which left them without heating for three days, an improperly installed bath which had to be replaced, and windows with scratches on.