𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Legal action against seven of Britain’s biggest housebuilders is set to be launched on behalf of homebuyers in a claim that could seek to secure up to £4.5 billion in compensation.

Mark McLaren – a former parliamentary and legal affairs manager at consumer group Which? – is planning to bring a class action claim against Barratt Redrow, Bellway, The Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, Vistry Group and its Countryside Partnerships division over allegations that consumers had to pay higher prices for new-build properties due to alleged anti-competitive behaviour by the firms.

It is being launched on behalf of more than 700,000 people who bought new build homes in Great Britain between October 2015 and June 24 this year.

The action – which is now going to the Competition Appeal Tribunal in order to get the go ahead – follows an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into whether the housebuilders shared commercially sensitive information for two years until February 2024.

The CMA dropped further action in return for an agreement by the firms to pay £100 million into affordable housing programmes and make binding commitments not to share information.

The class action case being led by Mr McLaren alleges that property buyers paid more for new build homes than they should have because of reduced competition between the major builders, and claims that it believes this was affecting buyers as far back as October 2015.

Mr McLaren, who is being represented by competition law firms Geradin Partners and Hausfeld as co-counsel, believes each affected homeowner could be due compensation of between £3,100 and £6,200 each – totalling between £2.2 billion and £4.5 billion.

Mr McLaren said: “Buying a home is one of the biggest financial commitments most of us will make.

“If, as seems to be the case, housebuilders shared sensitive pricing and sales information with one another instead of competing properly, homeowners across Great Britain may well have been left out of pocket as a result.

“This claim is about standing up for those buyers and ensuring that compensation is delivered to those who deserve it.”

Scott Campbell, a partner at Hausfeld, said: “For most homeowners, bringing an individual claim simply isn’t realistic, as the cost and complexity put it out of reach.

“That’s why this collective action is so important.

“It provides a practical route for hundreds of thousands of consumers to seek compensation where they may otherwise have had no way of doing so.”

The housebuilders have been approach for comment.

The CMA said last year it launched the probe amid concerns the firms were sharing commercially sensitive information, which could have impacted the development of sites and prices of new homes.

The watchdog there were signs they had exchanged details about sales including pricing, number of property viewings and incentives offered to buyers such as upgraded kitchens or stamp duty contributions.

But the agreement secured with the builders meant the regulator did not need to rule on whether the companies broke competition law.