Thousands of homeowners paying double for utilities due to ‘unadopted’ infrastructure, says HBF

Owners of new homes in the UK face “double charges” as a result of local authorities and utilities companies choosing not to adopt new infrastructure, according to a housebuilding industry body.

New research by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) has found that, on developments of 10 or more homes built in the past three years, just 10% have had their roads adopted by local authorities.

On the remaining 90%, housebuilders have had to enter into private management arrangements. According to the HBF, this shifts the financial burden onto homeowners, who cover the costs of these arrangements while continuing to pay full council tax and water charges.

The HBF’s research, launched at an event in parliament last week, found that 97% of new sewers and 98% of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) also remained unadopted.

It also revealed inconsistencies across local authorities, with a third having no roads adopted at all in recent developments and only one reporting 100% adoption of roads.

This has been compounded by a failure to adopt sewers, as local authorities will not adopt roads until utility companies have done the same for the connected sewer.

FOI data from the UK’s six largest water companies showed that just 3% of sewer adoption applications were completed in the past three years. Similarly, only 2% of SuDS applications were successful.

Neil Jefferson, chief executive at the HBF, said: “Unadopted housing estates leave homeowners unfairly burdened with ongoing costs while placing a significant strain on housebuilders.”

“Home buyers are being forced to pay service charges for essential services such as roads, drainage and sewers, alongside their council tax, which should cover such services to be provided and maintained by public authorities.”

“I welcomed the opportunity to discuss this important issue with MPs today and to build support for raising awareness of the urgent need for action.”

The issue has previously been raised by the Competition and Markets Authority in its Housebuilding Market Study, which recommended that the government implement a common adoptable standard for public amenities across England, Scotland and Wales and called for the introduction of mandatory adoption infrastructure on new housing estates, with limited exceptions.  

The HBF has called for the government to address these recommendations and to introduce statutory timelines for adoption agreements, alongside other measures.