What does defect “rectified” actually mean?
It sounds like a simple question.
On our New Choice Homes build, we raised visible gaps in the roof Anticon foil.
On 30 September 2026, we were advised that the issue had been rectified and were invited to view it.
So we did.
We attended the site on 4 October 2026 — four days later.
Visible gaps remained.
For us, the issue is bigger than the Anticon itself.
When a homeowner is told that a defect has been rectified, what should that reasonably mean?
At a minimum, we would expect that:
• the work has actually been completed
• someone has checked that the issue identified has been addressed
• the information given to the homeowner is accurate
• and the issue can reasonably be regarded as closed
Defects can occur during construction.
But once a defect has been raised, the quality of the rectification process and the checks that follow it matter just as much.
Being told something has been rectified should give a homeowner confidence that somebody has actually verified that outcome.
In our case, what we were told and what we observed four days later did not match.
That raises an important question about quality assurance:
Before a builder tells a homeowner that a defect has been rectified, what verification should reasonably have taken place?
The chronology and photographs are documented in our defects register.