Walk past a newbuild site today and you’ll still hear the clang of steel, the whirr of cranes, and marketing slogans promising smart, sustainable living. But behind the polished signage and sales patter, a more difficult truth lingers. After years of scandal, oversight failures and cladding chaos, buyers are wary. The question now is not just whether homes are being built to standard - but whether people believe they are.

Trust, once lost, is difficult to win back. And yet, for all its bruises, the UK construction sector is beginning to ask the right questions. That’s what this week’s Property Quorum podcast is all about.

Host and director Gareth Wax returns alongside Hamish McLay with a discussion that’s less about naming and shaming - and more about fixing what’s fixable. This time, they’re joined by Michelle Carr, an experienced Quantity Surveyor who knows what good looks like from a muddy site, not a boardroom. Also at the table is Juliet Baboolal, partner at gunnercooke and one of the sharpest legal minds in property, and developer-investor Chris Gilsenan of Root Home, who brings a clear-eyed view of where the industry stands today.

The central theme? Rebuilding trust. Not just in workmanship, but in the whole process - from purchase to aftercare.

Juliet is likely to put it like this: buyers need more than promises. They need guarantees. When people spend hundreds of thousands on a home, they shouldn’t be taking a gamble. The law, she argues, needs to offer more than the minimum - it should remove any perceived risk. That means real, enforceable standards. It means aftercare that actually delivers. And it means holding those responsible to account when things fall short.

Michelle, I’m sure, would agree - but she would be quick to point out that not all builders are the same. The good ones are out there - making an effort, correcting errors, putting quality above volume. But they’re swimming against a tide of past failures. The industry has work to do, not just on bricks and mortar, but on its own reputation.

The podcast also reflects on new frameworks like the New Homes Quality Code and the Building Safety Act. Are they enough? Are they working? Are they understood? Chris Gilsenan brings in the practical viewpoint. These regulations may be a start - but if we want to see meaningful change, we’ll need cultural shifts as much as legislative ones.

There’s also a quiet question humming underneath it all: do we need a new regulatory body? Not just another set of tick-boxes, but a watchdog with the power - and independence - to make standards stick. Because unless people believe someone is watching, confidence won’t return.
This week’s episode doesn’t sugar-coat the past, but it does search for a way forward. There’s a real sense - through every voice - that the sector is at a crossroads. Yes, trust has been broken. But it’s not beyond repair.

To get there, the rules need to be clear. The oversight needs to be real. And most importantly, the people behind the properties - the developers, the lawyers, the construction teams - need to work like their reputation depends on it. Because it does.

Join us live this Thursday at 10am or stream the episode after. If you’ve ever asked yourself whether a newbuild is truly safe, or whether regulation is working for the people it’s meant to protect, this is a conversation worth tuning in for.

? For content enquiries: hm@searchandconveysolutions.co.uk
? For podcast/media info: gareth@mphats.com