Neighbours have slammed one of the country’s biggest housebuilders after finding more than 400 faults in their new build homes.

Darren Cronin moved into the £600,000 house in Cunningham Way, Leavesden, almost two years ago – but he says there is still around £30,000 worth of work that Bellway needs to complete.

The National House Building Council (NHBC) has intervened because the property developer has repeatedly failed to address the issues, and 39-year-old Mr Cronin said he is now considering legal action.

Watford Observer:

Despite the original completion date being February 2015, Mr Cronin, his wife Hannah and their newborn baby were unable to move in until the end of May, and were forced to rent a home in between.

When they eventually moved in, there was no hot water, a wine cooler was left with wires hanging out of the wall and all the skirting boards had water damage. 

Since then, the company director said there have been continual issues in his home. His kitchen has been refitted 12 times, his ceilings have been fixed and repainted seven times and there are nails sticking out the walls.

There was a foot-long hole in the bathroom wall and the fire door had no fire strips on it, meaning it was not sealed or fireproof. 

One of the bedrooms has been deemed uninhabitable by NHBC, because of how cold it is.

As a result, contractors have been in and out of his home for the past two years, turning up unannounced and often ruining furniture while carrying out their work.

He said: “It’s been an absolute nightmare and Bellway has been completely useless. My wife is pregnant and we can’t use one of the bedrooms - I should have bought a three-bedroom house and saved myself £150,000.

“The house is so different from the showroom and I totally regret moving in here. Many of my neighbours feel the same way too.

“Bellway has made money from us and now it doesn't care. It’s awful. My daughter had just been born when we moved in – this isn’t what we needed when we had just had a baby. My wife has had to deal with a stream of builders most days.”

Mr Cronin’s neighbour Martin Hadek has experienced similar issues with Bellway.

The 44-year-old said: “Bellway is an absolutely awful company. I’m angry about everything, from the way they sold us the house to our treatment after moving in.

“There were 200 things wrong with the house when we moved in – 18 months later, about 60 of them have been fixed.

“We have been passed from to person to person and the company hoped we would just give up. It has done nothing.”

Bellway has been contacted for a comment.