{"id":45527,"date":"2026-02-13T16:07:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:07:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=45527"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:36:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:36:55","slug":"ihbc-features-heritage-from-the-super-rich-doorstep-britains-building-standards-so-bad-that-even-super-rich-face-housing-misery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=45527","title":{"rendered":"IHBC features \u2018Heritage from the \u2018super-rich\u2019 doorstep\u2019: Britain\u2019s building standards so bad that even super-rich face housing misery&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Residents of the UK\u2019s most expensive flats have won a court case over defective pipework \u2013 and if their homes are shoddily built, what hope do the rest of us have, asks Phineas Harper in <em>The Guardian<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p>Phineas Harper writes in <em>The Guardian<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even multimillionaires can\u2019t escape Britain\u2019s cowboy builders\u2026 residents of One Hyde Park, the UK\u2019s most expensive flats, won a \u00a335m court case against the contractor\u2026 construction company Laing O\u2019Rourke to fix defective pipework\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In many developed economies, skilled construction jobs are strictly\u2026 In Germany\u2026 widely considered to enjoy a significantly higher standard of construction than the UK, carpenters, roofers, architects, bricklayers and plumbers must all be properly trained and accredited&#8230; In the UK\u2026 anyone \u2013 regardless of qualifications \u2013 can be a carpenter or perform the functions of an architect\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2026 Inferior modern materials have also played a role in the decline of UK building quality\u2026. British architecture\u2026 made with flexible and breathable materials\u2026 able to handle temperature fluctuations, moisture changes and ground movements. Today, construction is dominated by cheaper\u2026 rigid materials such as cement, which is prone to crack\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/commentisfree\/2026\/feb\/11\/uk-housing-building-standards-one-hyde-park\">Read more from The Guardian<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See also: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/news\/terry-pawson-lodges-defence-against-3-5m-defective-house-claim\">Terry Pawson lodges defence against \u00a33.5m \u2018defective\u2019 house claim<\/a> [paywall]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Residents of the UK\u2019s most expensive flats have won a court case over defective pipework \u2013 and if their homes are shoddily built, what hope do the rest of us have, asks Phineas Harper in The Guardian?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6,27,23,9,11,22,623],"class_list":["post-45527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog","tag-building","tag-construction","tag-expertise","tag-government","tag-housing","tag-skills","tag-trade"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45528,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45527\/revisions\/45528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}