What is completion on notice and how does it work?
On a resale you exchange with a fixed completion date in the contract. On a new build that is not yet finished, you exchange with completion set to happen a fixed number of working days after the developer serves notice that the home is physically and legally complete. The notice period is set by the contract, and where the developer is registered with the New Homes Quality Board the Code expects it usually to be at least fourteen calendar days unless you and the developer agree otherwise. The developer chooses when to serve it. Do not confuse that notice with a notice to complete under the Standard Conditions of Sale, which runs for ten working days with time of the essence and is served only after a party has failed to complete on the contractual date.
That means your money has to be ready before the notice arrives, not after. Your mortgage advance must be requestable at short notice, your deposit balance must already be with us, and your removals and insurance need a flexible start. We tell you what the notice period is before you exchange and keep you updated on the build programme so it does not come as a surprise.
| Resale purchase | New build purchase | |
|---|---|---|
| Exchange | When both sides are ready | Within the developer's deadline from reservation |
| Completion date | Fixed in the contract at exchange | On notice once the home is finished; long-stop date as backstop |
| Deposit | Usually ten per cent on exchange | Reservation fee, then the balance of the deposit on exchange |
| Searches | On the property | On the site, plus planning and adoption agreements |
| Warranty | None; survey instead | Ten-year structural warranty, checked for your plot |
| Mortgage offer | Usually valid for a fixed period | Extended validity, but can still expire off-plan |
Is my reservation fee refundable?
It depends on the reservation agreement, which is why we ask to read it before you sign. Developers signed up to the New Homes Quality Code, or the older Consumer Code for Home Builders, must give you a written agreement that states how long it is valid, how it ends, and what may be deducted from a refund. Under the New Homes Quality Code there is a cooling-off period of at least fourteen days during which cancelling for any reason returns the whole fee, and after it the developer refunds the fee less the deductions the agreement itself sets out, within fourteen days (requirements 2.2, 2.3 and 2.4, checked 20 September 2026). Neither code caps the deduction, so the clause you sign is the one that decides it. A major change to size, appearance or value gives you fourteen days from written notice to cancel and recover everything you have paid.
The practical point is that the deadline is real. If the exchange date passes without exchange, the developer can remarket the plot and keep some or all of the fee. Instruct us on the day you reserve and send the mortgage application the same week.
Do I pay Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax on a new build?
Yes, on the same basis as any purchase: Stamp Duty Land Tax in England, charged in bands on the price with first-time buyer relief where you qualify, or Land Transaction Tax in Wales, collected by the Welsh Revenue Authority. The two are not the same: first-time buyer relief exists in England, where there is no tax to 300,000 pounds and none of the relief at all above 500,000 pounds, while Wales has no first-time buyer relief and starts its main residential rates above 225,000 pounds (gov.uk and gov.wales, rates in force from 1 April 2025 and 10 October 2022 respectively, checked 20 September 2026). A developer incentive that pays your tax is still an incentive and must be disclosed to your lender. Where the developer grants a new lease of a flat, a further charge on the rent element can arise only where the ground rent is high enough to matter, which a peppercorn rent is not. Stamp Duty calculator covers the bands.