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A HOMEOWNER has been left “broken” after her dream £325,000 new-build home turned out to be racked with defects and has become infested with insects.

Karen Stacey-Pope from Banbury says she is having to fight the house-builder to resolve a host of problems and that a surveyor has concluded the house is “not fit for habitation”.

Karen Stacey-Pope's home is not habitable less than a year after moving in
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Karen Stacey-Pope's home is not habitable less than a year after moving inCredit: BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme

Speaking to the , she said: “This has broken me and they don’t care this has broken me.

“I just can’t believe how unlucky we have been to be in this position when it was supposed to be completely different to this.”

Karen says the wrong porch was built, air bricks meant to stop the home from becoming damp and rotten were buried underground and her driveway is sinking.

A recent leak has damaged walls and a ceiling and she is battling an invasion of slugs, worms, beetles and spiders which because of a fault “have their own personal entrance”.

It is also claimed movement joints which stop damage to houses if the land shifts had been completely forgotten.

The £325,000 house is racked with problems
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The £325,000 house is racked with problemsCredit: BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme
This deep hole allows all creepy-crawlies to move in
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This deep hole allows all creepy-crawlies to move inCredit: BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme
It is not just the inside of the house that is the problem
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It is not just the inside of the house that is the problemCredit: BBC Victoria Derbyshire programme

A spokesman from Bovis said:"We apologise to Mrs Stacey-Pope that she did not receive the quality that she and her family deserved and rightly expected.

“Since she moved in last year, a senior construction director has been overseeing the work and engaging with her on a regular basis.

“Unfortunately this work has stalled at different stages as we sought authority from Mrs Stacey-Pope to proceed on some of the items, but we remain determined to deliver a quality home once this authority is given.

“We recognise that our build quality and customer service standards were not at the high levels that they should have been at some of our sites 12 months ago and we have made significant changes to how we operate in 2017."

These houses look normal from the outside, but wait until you step inside!


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