22 News
REPORT ON GOVERNMENT HOUSING POLICY
MILLER’S CHARTER IS MUCH SMARTER
Housebuilder of the Year, Miller Homes has published a new Customer Charter to further affirm its commitment to making the house buying process as stress free and as straightforward as possible for its customers.
Included in the charter, Miller Homes has promised to make all of its literature and advertising ‘clear and fair’, to ensure that customers are fully informed at every stage with total clarification agreed before contracts are signed.
JOE SIMPSON CONSULTING EDITOR
Property consultants Knight Frank have released a report aimed at helping developers unpick the issues surrounding the Government’s housing policy for England and Wales. The eight-page report comes at a time when the Government’s Housing and Regeneration Bill confirmed an ambitious target of three million new homes in England and Wales by 2020.
The report highlights the three main themes that underpin the Government’s housing policy summarising them as: ‘there needs to be more of it, it needs to be better designed and it needs to be more affordable’. It concludes by saying ‘this is prompting a significant shift in emphasis from housing renewal to housing growth.’ The issue for the house building industry and the planning systems surrounding it is that the demand for a step change in the pace of development needs to take place alongside ambitious targets for design and build standards such as the commitment to make all homes Zero Carbon by 2016. Elaine Tooke, Knight Frank Head of Residential Development Consulting says: “This document sets out the key policies as they affect developers and house builders whilst some policies and targets may be further refined the pattern is clear. Developers who invest time and resources in design and place making skills, develop good links with affordable housing providers and importantly build relationships with public sector landowners, will succeed over the next decade.”
According to Liam Bailey, Head of Residential Research: “The Government’s vision is to see all households having ‘access to a decent home at a price they can afford, in a place they want to live and work’. It is therefore somewhat ironic that this vision for increased housing stock to aid affordability is enunciated just at the time when house prices and sales volumes are coming under increased pressure. Our aim in producing this intelligence brief is to focus the minds of all involved in housing development process on the issues to be addressed for their future success and that of the sectors in which they operate.”
Research has shown that ‘wanting more information’ tops most house buyer’s request lists when buying a home, with many claiming they don’t fully understand the process. Miller Homes’ charter helps to provide a solution to these concerns by explaining that, as part of the package when buying a Miller home, people are assigned a dedicated contact at each stage of the buying process so they always know who to get in touch with if they have a query.
Once a customer has reserved, Miller will also keep in regular contact with them throughout the construction process of their home – through email, text message, phone or letter – depending on the buyer’s preference. They will be notified at each stage of the building process.
This is all done via the developer’s customer web portal, ‘
mymillerhome.com’, which creates individual micro-sites for every buyer allowing them to track the build progress of their home through ten key stages, including foundations laid, kitchen fitted and joinery complete.
A further benefit included in the charter allows anyone buying a house from Miller the option to cancel their contract at no cost if the completion of their home is significantly delayed. In the unlikely event that such a delay does occur, Miller Homes will also refund any deposits, pre-payments or reservation fees paid to the housebuilder.
Marketing director of Miller Homes, Philip Hogg, said: “The customer has always been our number one priority. Although it is very unlikely that we would be unable to complete a home in the time period that we schedule, occasionally there will be circumstances beyond our control that could affect this. We recognise that when buying a property the timing is very important for the buyer. Therefore we are happy to offer this as an alternative solution if these exceptional circumstances do occur.
“Our Customer Charter has been designed as an easy to digest guide for buyers to outline all the customer focused initiatives we have in place, helping to put their minds at rest and ensure they are fully aware of all the support mechanisms available.”
Also included in the charter are details of the developer’s ten year National House Building Council (NHBC) warranty, which helps give buyers further reassurance about the quality of their new home.
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