The National House Building Council, usually known as the NHBC, states its primary purpose as raising the construction standards of new homes in the United Kingdom (UK) and providing consumer protection for homebuyers through its 10-year Buildmark warranty.

Established in 1936, NHBC is the UK’s largest provider of new home warranties. According to NHBC’s website, around 80% of new homes built in the UK each year have an NHBC 10-year warranty. NHBC is also the UK’s largest single Approved Inspector for Building Regulations. Its other activities include the provision of services linked to house building and general construction; including energy ratings, health and safety, sustainability, and training. It also provides industry statistics and benchmarking services.

The NHBC is a non-profit distributing company, so reinvests ‘profit’ in its activities to improve the quality of new homes to protect the interests of homeowners.

NHBC is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

In 1985, under the Building Act 1984, the NHBC set up a subsidiary company; NHBC Building Control Services Ltd, and became the first private sector building control body licensed as an Approved Inspector, for the purpose of verifying that buildings are built in accordance with the building regulations across England and Wales. It is the largest single Approved Inspector in England and Wales; inspecting around 50% of all new-build properties in the UK, and assists builders to achieve compliance, and advises on Building Regulations for schemes ranging from residential developments to large commercial and mixed-use sites.