Leaky ceilings, wonky windows and unpaved drives – the ‘nightmare’ new build homes still unfinished YEARS later
RESIDENTS plagued by problems on newbuild estates have told of their "nightmare" after their houses remained unfinished more than a year after they moved in.
They claim they've identified a string of faults which have not yet been fixed by Persimmon - officially the UK's worst major housebuilder.
The firm has faced a barrage of criticism for "shoddy workmanship" and fatcat pay while customers struggled with springing leaks and cracked windows.
Last month it emerged road surfaces have been left unfinished for FOUR YEARS at Persimmon's Boulevard estate in Newport, South Wales.
Now residents on other newbuild estates from the same developer have told of their own troubles.
Tom Rees and his family moved into their house at Parc Brynderi, Llanelli, 14 months ago and say they have had endless problems since.
Tom said: "There's water leaking out of the extractor fans in the bathroom, it looks like the front and back doors are going to have to ripped out and one of the windows has already been taken out.
"I had to argue back and forth for ages that the window wasn't straight - they finally agreed to take it out but have taken half the wall with them.
"We're now left with a two meter by three meter patch which they haven't come to fix.
'ENDLESS PROBLEMS'
"About six weeks ago somebody came out to assess all of the problems and said they'd have them all sorted - they started work but after a few days they left with only about 20 per cent of the work actually done."
He added: "Whenever we get in contact promises are made but nothing's been done about it.
"It's all been quite stressful but the worst thing by far is their poor customer service.
"We've got twins who are 13 months old, we're first time buyers and we just wanted everything to be right but there's been so any problems.
"They were born two months premature so we wanted to bring them back to a house that was right - when you spend £185,000 on a house you don't expect this."
Another Persimmon buyer, Michelle Holland, said life had been a "nightmare" ever since she moved into the Golwg y Mynydd estate in Mountain Ash.
The mum-of-one was in hospital with her newborn when her partner got the keys to their house just before Christmas in 2018.
When he opened the door there was a leak coming through the ceiling and a soaking floor.
Michelle said: "They [Persimmon] had to cut a hole in our brand new ceiling and patch it up.
"Ever since we've had problems with the en-suite floor."
She also claims the toilets have "never flushed properly", and that Persimmon installed an ugly "prison gate" at the side of her house rather than the wooden one she was promised.
And she almost fell into the holes outside after being left with unfinished surfaces for weeks.
'WORST HOUSEBUILDER'
Another time, she arrived home to find workmen has dug up the freshly laid drive to fix a pinhole in a pipe underneath.
Michelle said: "They promise it will be done by tomorrow but actually it ends up taking weeks."
Persimmon said it had acted "promptly and fairly" in addressing problems reported by Michelle.
It said the drive was dug up by the water company and Persimmon repaved it "as a courtesy".
In Tom's case, the housebuilder said: "We visited the customer’s property and agreed upon a snagging list.
"Some of the defects have been resolved but there are some outstanding due to contractor and customer availability.
"We have spoken to the customer again and remain committed to completing the agreed list of work, hopefully in the next three to four weeks."
But other customers have reported similar woes across the UK - leaving many fearing their homes are unsellable.
In April, dad Rob Lewis told of "the worst year of our lives" after buying a £242,000 Persimmon home with wonky walls and uneven floors in Port Talbot, Wales.
MOST READ IN NEWS
In January we told how Persimmon's Yew Tree Hill estate near Droitwich, Gloucs, was lying empty because of a row over an access road.
And Darren Harris said neighbours laugh at the "shoddy" brickwork of his £210,000 home in Pembroke, Wales.
Last August fed-up homeowner Mike Firth hung a sign from his window warning other buyers of his "endless problems" in Castleford, West Yorks.
Guy Kirk put similar posters in his windows warning off potential buyers after he claims his newbuild house had damp and mould in Newquay, Cornwall.
Persimmon was named Britain's worst housebuilder for the fourth year running by the Home Builders Federation.
