1

Are all investors excluded from the Consumer Code

Yes; individuals, groups or organisations who are buying one or more Homes for the purposes of renting are excluded from the Consumer Code.

Does the code apply to developers who are not registered with a Home Warranty Body but who have use a registered Home Builder as a contractor?

As the Vendor is unregistered, there is no direct link to the Home Warranty Body’s Rules enforcing compliance with the code.  However, the Warranty Bodies have an agreed procedure in place whereby any such unregistered developers will be invited to sign an undertaking to comply with the code requirements. 

Such an agreement will be prerequisite on releasing warranty documents and would be defendable should the Home Buyer take a case to the independent dispute resolution service available under the code.

3 

If an investor exchanges contracts with a builder or developer and then either assigns the contract or sub sells to a private buyer, is that private buyer covered by the consumer code?

As this private buyer is effectively a second purchaser, there is no relationship between them and the original developer – therefore the consumer code requirements do not apply. 

The only exception to this being the developer’s responsibility to this private buyer as if they were a second purchaser under sections 4 and 5 of the consumer code in relation to defective workmanship that occurs and is reported within the builder two year liability period.

It may be worth noting that this kind of scenario could run contrary to any lenders’ own transparency or disclosure requirements and should be checked with them.