Picture buying a new-build home, only to discover later that you might have paid thousands more than you should have because the country's biggest housebuilders were allegedly sharing secrets instead of competing. That is the central allegation behind a potential £4.5 billion class action lawsuit now heading to the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
Mark McLaren, a former parliamentary and legal affairs manager at consumer group Which?, is leading the collective claim against seven of Britain’s largest housebuilders: Barratt Redrow, Bellway, The Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, and Vistry Group (including its Countryside Partnerships division). The claim covers roughly 700,000 people who bought a new-build home in Great Britain between October 2015 and June 24 this year. Each affected homeowner could be due compensation of between £3,100 and £6,200, bringing the total payout to somewhere between £2.2 billion and £4.5 billion.
“A class action lawsuit could compensate 700,000 new-build buyers for overpaying due to alleged price-fixing.”
The legal action stems from an earlier investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The watchdog looked into whether the seven builders had shared commercially sensitive information – such as pricing details, the number of property viewings, and buyer incentives like upgraded kitchens or stamp duty contributions – for about two years up to February 2024. The CMA dropped further action after the builders agreed to pay £100 million into affordable housing programmes and made binding commitments not to share information again. However, the CMA did not rule on whether competition law had actually been broken. Now, the class action seeks to establish that the alleged information-sharing reduced competition and pushed up prices for new-build homes, leaving buyers out of pocket.
For UK readers, this case matters because buying a home is often the largest financial commitment a person makes. If the claim succeeds, hundreds of thousands of new-build purchasers could be entitled to compensation without having to bring individual legal cases – which, as Scott Campbell, a partner at law firm Hausfeld, put it, “simply isn’t realistic” due to cost and complexity. The case also shines a light on competition in the housing market, a sector where prices have long been a source of public frustration.
Q: Who is eligible for compensation? A: Anyone who bought a new-build home in Great Britain from one of the seven named firms (Barratt Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, or Vistry Group) between October 2015 and June 24, 2024.
Q: How much could I get? A: Lead lawyer Mark McLaren estimates each affected homeowner could receive between £3,100 and £6,200, depending on the final size of the claim (currently estimated at £2.2bn to £4.5bn).
Q: Do I need to do anything now? A: No. The case must first be certified by the Competition Appeal Tribunal. If it proceeds, affected homeowners will be contacted about how to join the claim.
What happens next: The claim is being submitted to the Competition Appeal Tribunal for approval. If given the go-ahead, it will proceed as a collective action. The housebuilders have been approached for comment but have not yet responded.