Deco Design & Build / North Star 2000

Your homeowner warranty is issued by Build-Zone and begins on the date you legally complete on your new home. For the first two years we guarantee our workmanship and materials against defects. A defect is classed as a failure to comply with: – The current Building Regulations in England and Wales in respect to the construction of the Housing Unit.

The remaining 8 years of your warranty covers major damage which refers to structural or waterproofing issues.

We do not protect you against every problem that may occur, and you are obliged to carry out maintenance on your home.

• Problems with appliances, these will have their own individual warranty that you should register with the manufacturer
• Damage caused by accident, negligence, abuse, poor maintenance and normal wear & tear of the property
• Blockages in drains or foul pumps caused by inappropriate disposal of items such as nappies, wet wipes, cotton buds, hair plugs, dental floss, food or cooking waste etc.
• Any cosmetic defects such as scratches, chips, cracks or marks that have not been reported within fourteen days of legal completion. This includes decoration, flooring, tiling, textured ceilings, kitchen units, fitted bedroom and bathroom furniture, worktops, sinks, sanitary ware, appliances, glass, and other similar items. Outside of this time frame, it is difficult to prove how the damage was caused
• Any damage caused to your freehold property from extreme weather conditions i.e. storms, high winds, flash floods or freezing temperatures etc. Problems that arise from extreme weather conditions should be covered by your own home insurance
• Shrinkage, cracks and gaps from the normal drying out process or condensation
• Efflorescence, which is caused by the drying out of a new build. Natural salts may cause white deposits to appear on the walls. This is normal and not harmful and usually disappears over time.
• Any inconvenience, distress, consequential loss of enjoyment, or income loss caused by remedial works, assuming all reasonable steps have been taken to minimise disruption

Should an issue arise within your home that requires our assistance, please contact us during office hours on this telephone number 0208 313 1411.

All calls must be directed to the office, please do not contact individual employees of Deco Design & Build or North Star 2000 on their personal mobile numbers.

All appointments with our contractors must be organised and authorised through the office, please do not contact our contractors directly.

Outside of office hours please email us info@northstar-2000.com

Please always include your full name, address and telephone number.

The time frame to deal with repairs varies depending on the severity of the issue and the availability of spare parts / and contractors. Non-emergency issues will be dealt with during normal working hours at a mutually convenient time.

Examples of Non-Emergency Issues:

• Dripping taps / showerheads
• Doors / windows which require easing
• Slow draining baths / showers

We usually request photographs or short video clips of the problem to help us assess the issue, please provide appropriate evidence when emailing us.

We will respond to your enquiry as soon as we can, typically within 2-3 working days. We will always try and accommodate your schedule when booking a contractor to attend your property.

If we cannot agree on a mutually convenient appointment after two attempts, the issue will remain on our list, and we will come back to it the next time we have contractors available in your area.

Charges will be payable for aborted appointments which have been arranged at your request. E.g. You fail to follow agreed access arrangements, or you forget to disable an alarm.

There are some very useful videos prepared by Southwark council on YouTube which explain how to safely attempt basic DIY issues such as unblocking a sink or toilet or resetting a trip switch.

We recommend viewing these videos as they may help you to fix your problem yourself. If you are in any doubt, please get in touch with us as soon as possible.

Ideal Boilers also have a YouTube channel with many useful user videos, their channel can be accessed here:

The videos provide guidance on how to deal with low pressure and how to fix L and F fault codes amongst other topics.

We also recommend that you visit the Thames Water website so that you are clear on how to prevent unnecessary and costly blockages.

Please take the time to review these guides, and if this does not solve your issue please do get back in touch with us.

We will help you with problems inside your property, but you must contact the managing agent for problems with the communal areas.

When to contact the managing agent: 

• Issues with maintenance / cleaning of communal areas including bin stores
• Issues with communal gardens or parking facilities
• Issues with access to bin or bike stores
• Problems with noise from other residents
• Issues with the intercom, security alarms, lifts, foul pump stations

The following examples are of emergency situations. Please read this section carefully so that you are prepared for any potential problems.

Central heating and hot water

Complete failure of the combined central heating/hot water system. Before calling us, please check that this has not been caused by local electricity or gas supply problems, or by incorrectly setting your timers or thermostats, or by any shut off device that can be reset by the user (refer to your boiler/cylinder instructions for further details).

Water supply

Complete loss of water supply. Before calling, please check that your water supplier has not turned off the water to carry out repair work in the area.

Water leak

When a leak cannot be contained and is causing damage, particularly if it is leaking into an electrical fitting. Should this happen inside office hours, please cut off the water supply and contact us immediately. Outside of office hours, please cut off the water supply and call an emergency plumber.

Gas leak

Please contact your gas supplier on the emergency number 0800 111 999, before calling us. They will be able to isolate the meter and make your home safe.

Total loss of gas

Before calling us, please check that your gas supplier has not turned off the mains to carry out repair work in the area.

Loss of power supply to socket outlets

When there is a total loss throughout the property and it cannot be solved by resetting the master trip switch, or if the loss is partial but there is a potential safety hazard (such as in a communal hallway). Please check that your electricity supplier has not turned off the mains to carry out repair work and that there is no local power failure.

Blocked drains When they are causing a flood or overflowing internally or externally. Please contact us immediately during office hours. Outside of office hours please call an emergency plumber.

Blocked toilet When you have no other useable toilet, please contact us during office hours. Outside office hours, please call an emergency plumber.

We will not reimburse a call out charge for an issue which could have been managed inside office hours, or for issues arising from user error or misuse.

• To keep the bin store tidy, all domestic waste and recycling must be placed into the bins provided. Items left on the floor will not be cleared by the refuse collectors
• Bulk items such as old furniture must be disposed of at the local dump
• Not to use the premises or allow others to use the premises in a way which causes a noise nuisance, annoyance or damage to any neighboring, property or the owners or occupiers of them
• NEVER flush items such as nappies, wet wipes, cotton buds, hair plugs, dental floss, food or cooking waste etc. Blockages to drains and foul pumps caused by inappropriate disposal of waste will incur additional service charges
• To adhere to the ‘No Smoking’ policy of the development
• To always shut the communal front door. Leaving / wedging it open is a security risk and will invalidate the insurance policy for the development
• Do not allow a person or delivery driver into the development unless they are known to you or you are expecting them. Allowing an unknown individual into the communal area is a security risk
• Ensure you give your flat number when arranging for deliveries, so that the delivery person rings the correct doorbell
• To adequately ventilate your home to prevent condensation, damp and mould
• To keep communal areas free of obstructions and potential trip or fire hazards
• To register your appliances with your warranty provider

Homes should be run-in gently over the first few months. This is because concrete, bricks, timber, plaster and other materials will have absorbed water during construction. You may not be aware of it, and it certainly will not do you any harm, but it does need to evaporate slowly and be ventilated away.

As your home is lived in and heated, timber and other materials will shrink and this can cause small cracks on wall and ceiling finishes. Small cracks or gaps may also appear at joints and corners of skirting boards and other interior joinery.

These cracks are not structurally significant and can be put right in the normal process of redecoration. However, because such minor cracks are inevitable, we are not required to rectify them.

To minimise cracking, try to keep a reasonably even temperature throughout your home, even in rooms which are not occupied.

If you move in during winter months try to use the central heating sparingly at first, so that the structure of your home warms up and dries out gradually.

Depending on how your home has been built and the weather conditions, this may take several months.

Your home needs to be kept well ventilated to allow moisture to evaporate as the structure dries out. Leave windows or, at least, the trickle vents (slotted vents in the window frame) open for as long as you can each day.

The extractor fans run 24 hours a day to extract stale air and moisture with booster buttons located in the kitchen and outside the bathrooms.

The extraction system cannot be accidentally switched off, it is designed to run continually in the background. Opening a vent fully will reduce resistance and noise.

Please ensure the vents are never fully closed as this will cause a damp problem.

Condensation is caused by steam or water vapour when it meets cold surfaces (in the same way that steam in the bathroom condenses on the window).

Condensation is common in new and newly converted homes while construction materials dry out. If allowed to persist it can sometimes cause mould on walls and ceilings. In exceptional circumstances, condensation and mould can damage clothes, bedding, floor coverings, decorations and the home itself.

Once materials have dried out, you should no longer experience significant condensation. However, normal daily activities produce a great deal of water vapour, which may cause condensation if allowed to spread around the home.

The following advice should help reduce condensation:

Produce less moisture

• Cover pans when cooking to reduce steam.
• Avoid drying clothes indoors over radiators. Put washing outdoors to dry if you can. If you use a tumble dryer, make sure that it is vented to the outside air (unless it is a self-condensing type).

Ventilate your home

• If your home has a ventilation system fitted, these should not be switched off.
• Use fans or open windows when showering.
• Use the cooker hood and/or extractor fans and keep the doors closed when cooking, washing, bathing and drying clothes indoors.

Provide even heating

Ventilation is needed to get rid of the moisture that is naturally produced every day in your home. The trickle vents (slotted vents in the window frames) are intended to provide constant ‘background’ ventilation and should be left open when rooms are occupied.

Make sure the central heating timer is set so that your home is warm by the time you return home. During very cold weather it is better to leave the heating on during the day to maintain an even temperature. The temperature can be set a few degrees lower and turned up when you return. Homes where the heating is off all day because the occupants are out, are more likely to suffer condensation problems than those heated more continuously. This is because, when normal activities such as washing and cooking are carried out in the evening, the home has been unheated for long periods and so surfaces are cold.