Handover & Aftercare Procedure
Chelsea Riverview

Your SMC Home

SMC Property strives for excellence and our teams work to the highest standards to ensure our residents can move into their new homes happily and quickly. Before the owners are handed the keys to a new home, our properties are checked by three individual teams, they will check every inch of your home to minimise disruption once you have moved in.

Handover Procedure

1. 12-4 Weeks Before Completion; Pre-Completion Inspection Invitation
As your new home is approaching completion, SMC will contact you between 12-4 weeks before your anticipated completion date to invite you to carry out a Pre-Handover inspection. On the Pre-handover inspection you will have the opportunity to raise any snags or issues you find with your property. Although we don't expect there to be any issues or snags at this stage as we would have already snagged the units multiple times, if you do find any defects on your inspection, SMC will ensure to complete those before issuing legal notice to complete. If you or an advisor are unable to attend the pre completion inspection in person; please contact us as if we don't hear from you 1 month after we have contacted you, we will assume you do not wish to inspect your unit prior to legal completion.

2. Within 4 Weeks Before Completion; confirmation of anticipated completion date & move in information
Our team will contact you to confirm your anticipated completion date, it is at this stage we will arrange the Handover meeting and New Home Demonstration date which can happen on or after the legal completion date. The following will be arranged:

• Confirmation of anticipated Sales Completion
• Handover Meeting & New Home Demonstration
• Confirmation of the date you intend to move into the property (lifts are to be booked out to enable furniture moving)

3. 15 days Before Completion; Legal Notice to complete
Once the new home is ready, SMC’s Solicitor will serve a Legal Notice to Completion to the Buyer’s Solicitor in accordance with the terms of the exchange. The Buyer will be given 15 days notice to complete the purchase of the property.

At the point of legal completion; SMC will ensure they have completed the construction of the new home to standards identified in the Consumer Code, and will have carried out a final-quality inspection of the new home.

4. Handover Meeting & New Home Demonstration
On the agreed handover date with the buyer, a member of our customer care team will meet you at Reception to take you up to your new home and hand over the keys. A new home demonstration will be carried out. The Resident Liaison will demonstrate how the appliances and features in the home operate, and provide full details of any guarantees and warranties.

In this meeting, the member of our customer care team will take you through the following information:

• A demonstration of your new home
• Keys & fobs are handed over
• Meter readings are taken (if completed on the day of legal completion, the meters are digital and can be remotely read)
• Any issues or questions can be raised and answers

The Buyer will be provided with;

• Structural Warranty documents and user guides/manuals,
• a copy of the Complaints Procedure
• Home User Guide
• a Health and Safety file in compliance with relevant legislation
• a copy of the Building Regulation Control Certificate and inspection records

The residents will be given access to all the documentation through the online portal. The login information will be provided to each resident on or before the handover date.

After Care Service

Our Responsibility

SMC will give the Buyer a comprehensive after-sales service for two years post legal completion. During this period the buyer is within their right to report any snags to the Developer to rectify. SMC will be responsible for rectifying defects or incomplete works including faults with appliances or electrical mechanical equipment (excluding wear and tear, misuse). SMC will ensure that snags and defects are resolved as soon as possible, and within a mutually agreed timescale.

To contact our aftercare team please email or call:
customercare@smcproperty.co.uk
01784 454 829

New Homes Warranty

Our new homes come with a 12 year New Homes Warranty provided by Buildzone. This policy covers the following items:

• Cost of complete or partial rebuilding or rectifying work to your new home or commercial unit which has been affected by major damage as defined in the Policy.
• Cost of making good any defect in the design, materials, workmanship in the newly constructed drainage system for which you are responsible.
• Costs of repairing, replacing or rectifying any part of the waterproof envelope of your new home or commercial unit as a result of ingress of water caused by a defect in the design, workmanship, materials or components of the waterproofing elements of the new development.
• Cost of repairing or making good any defects in the chimneys and flues of the new development which are causing an imminent danger to the health and safety of occupants of the home or commercial unit.
• Alternative accommodation costs and expenses in respect of removal and storage if your home or commercial unit is uninhabitable as a result of the insured defect.
• Fees such as architects, surveyors, legal, consulting engineers and other fees necessarily and reasonably incurred by you in relation to the complete or partial rebuilding or rectifying work to your home or commercial unit.
• Costs and expenses incurred by you for the removal of debris, dismantling or demolishing, and shoring up as a result of the insured defect.

What is not covered:

• Loss or damage due to or arising from any defects in any existing and/or retained structures and their retained component parts.
• Loss or damage caused by normal settlement, drying out or natural shrinkage in the new development.
• Loss or damage caused by or resulting from fire, lightning, explosion, typhoon, hurricane, cyclone, volcanic eruption, earthquake, storm, tempest, flood, subterranean fire or other convulsion of nature, aircraft or other aerial devices or articles therefrom, escapes of water from tanks, apparatus or pipes, malicious persons, theft, attempted theft or impact.
• Fees incurred by you in preparing a claim.
• Any legal liability you may have to third parties arising out of the use or ownership of the home or commercial unit.
• Damage caused by movement and characteristic changes associated with the use of unseasoned timber within the new development.
• Damage caused by sulphides/sulphates (e.g. pyrite).Change in colour, texture, opacity or staining or any other ageing process.
• Wilful and malicious damage by you or any other party.
• Wear and tear, toxic mould or mildew, action by or infestation of vermin or insects, atmospheric or climatic conditions or gradual deterioration.
• Property Cyber and Data loss, damage or liability.
• Loss, damage, claim, cost or expenses caused by Communicable Disease.
• Loss or damage, claim, cost or expense caused by or attributable to Asbestos.

Further details of the insurance policy have been provided in your legal pack and will be provided in your Handover pack.

Defects Management

We know that sometimes despite our best efforts defects can occur. Our aftercare team is here to help and resolve any issues you have whilst the warranty is valid. We will provide each new homeowner with a 24 month warranty which commences from the date that you complete your purchase.

In the event that you notice a defect within your property, please follow the below steps to register a defect:

1. How to Register a Defect

Any defects (issues with your property) should be reported to the after care team at customercare@SMCpropertyco.uk or call us on 01784 454 829. Please provide videos, photographs and any information required to make sure your defect is dealt with as quickly as possible.

2. Rectifying Defects

Defects should be reported to the customer care team as soon as possible via email with as much information as possible. Images and videos are very helpful and will ensure the defect is dealt with correctly and quickly. Once your defect has been logged onto the system, we will review the defect as quickly as possible to triage the seriousness of the defect and advise on the timescales for the rectification of the issue.

The customer care team will keep up to date with the progress of your issue and will contact you to arrange access for the defect to be rectified.

Please see the below information on timeframes & types of defects:

Emergency Defects - 6 Hours

Emergency defects should be reported to the customer care team and Concierge as soon as possible. Once the issue is reported, the defect will be made safe within 6 hours and should be repaired within 5 business days. The list of emergency defects includes, but not limited to:

• Loss of heating, hot water, electricity,
• Uncontrollable leak
• Loss of security (unable to open, close, lock doors or windows)
• Blocked toilet (when only have 1 WC facility in property)

Urgent Defects - The defect(s) will be within 7 business days

Including, but not limited to:

• Leak that can be contained (water dripping can be wiped or secured in a bowl)
• Blocked toilet (when 2 WC facilities in property)

Routine Defects - The defect(s) will be repaired within 28 days

Including, but not limited to:

• Cosmetic items (cracks/touch ups)
• External items.
• Low priority items may be left until EOD to be added to the list & completed.

End of the Defects (EOD) Period

Two months before the end of the defects period, we will arrange an End of Defects period inspection with our team, who will meet you at the property and run through any outstanding defects that need to be picked up.

This meeting plays a crucial part of the process and will be beneficial to all parties. If for any reason you are unable to attend this meeting, please contact the team. Prior to this meeting, we recommend putting a list of your final defect items together, we will request this, if you have one we will go through it in the meeting. This list should include all outstanding issues with your property (internal/external).

Following this meeting, a final list of all items will be compiled, this is called your ‘EOD list’. We will then contact you to arrange appointments to close down the remaining items. After each item is completed, the contractor completing the repair will ask you to sign to say it has been completed. Once all items have been completed it is the resident’s/leaseholder’s responsibility to sign and date the list to agree that all items have been satisfactorily completed and can be closed down.

Please note: once items have been signed as complete, they cannot be reopened.

Latent Defects - 12 Year Build Zone Warranty

After your EOD, when your property is over 24 months old, you may find that an issue arises that was not evident during your warranty period or at your EOD meeting. A ‘latent defect’ is where the issue was there all along but does not show up until after the 24 month period has elapsed.

If you suspect a latent defect report the issue as normal to the aftercare team and we will take the relevant action. We may send our surveyors to inspect the property to provide a report advising on the cause of the issue.

If it is an emergency, please contact the customer care & concierge team, they will be on hand to provide urgent assistance if required.

3. Caring for your New Home

Please see the below guides to assist you and put your mind at ease and how to take care of your new home to keep it looking new.

3.1. Cracks

These will only be attended where there is a gap of 3mm or more (large enough to fit a £1 coin into the gap). If this is not the case, please do not be concerned about wider structural issues. It is very common to see cracks smaller than this in new builds as they occur while the building finishes drying out and settling over the first 12 months – they are called shrinkage cracks. These are easily dealt with while redecorating with a little decorator’s caulk and will be dealt with at the EOD period.

3.2. Appliances

Any issues with white goods, cookers and hobs (if supplied) cannot be repaired through the defects process as they are not the liability of the housebuilder, rather the manufacturer. Please contact the manufacturer requesting a repair under their warranty, and don’t forget to register the appliance to activate the warranty!

3.3. Sealant/mastics

These are perishable items that need renewing and therefore fall under homeowner maintenance so cannot be repaired through this process. Good cleaning regime can help to keep your sealant looking brand new.

3.4. Paintwork

These fall under homeowner maintenance (redecoration) unless making good is needed due to a defect such as leak/damp.

3.5. Nail pops in plasterboard

These fall under homeowner maintenance unless there are 6 in one piece of plasterboard and / or over 6+ in the property.