Rectory Reviews 

We bought our home after doing some research into areas outside of London. The village was in a convenient location and the development was exactly what we were after.

We had a great sales experience from the friendly sales lady who walked us through the process without it feeling daunting or stressful.

Not long after moving in we had a follow up meeting with the after care team who helped us with some cracking roof tiles. The team arranged for replacement of a large section of the tiles shortly after which must have been a defective batch. Other than the tiling issue which was resolved, we have been very pleased with the finish of our home and the quality of Rectory Homes. Having only rented a modern home previously, the two do not compare.

The house has all of the modern efficiencies and convenience we wanted for our family and overall we are thrilled this will be our forever home.

From start to finish buying my first home with Rectory was fantastic! The team were professional, attentive and nothing was too much trouble. All emails and calls were answered quickly and they worked well with my solicitor.

Having never bought a house before, they guided me through the process and made it feel special and exciting!
Once I moved in, I knew I had made such a good decision. Everything worked perfectly and the odd bit of snagging was addressed quickly. The layout of my home is perfect, with smart finishing features but also a homely feel. The whole plot of houses work with the village and has been landscaped beautifully too! Rectory also designed a large area of community land at the bottom of our site making it even more lovely for the residents living here!

I love living in my new home and if I were to ever move, I would seriously consider another Rectory home!

Rectory Surveyors Ltd.
They are a scam. They don’t have the professional tools compared to another company I used. Then they take roughly 6 weeks for the similar report which took 4 days.
There price was double the price too.
Please stay away…. far away.

We believed that buying a new-build home from a long-established, self-described premium developer such as Rectory Homes would offer peace of mind. Unfortunately, our experience has been very disappointing indeed, and we are not alone in feeling this way. We purchased our home just over two years ago, and from the day we moved in there were multiple issues, some of which are still here today. Ours is not the only home with issues, as a significant number of neighbours on the development have reported similar problems, some of whom ended up paying for the repairs themselves, despite supposedly being covered by Rectory's guarantee.

Plumbing.
All but one sink and/or tap in our home had leaks. Rectory’s response times were very slow, and in many cases we received no response at all, so we ended up paying for our own plumber to resolve these issues.
None of the shower cubicles were properly sealed, leading to leaks and damage to ceilings, flooring and carpets.
We also understand from neighbours that there have been far more serious issues than ours on the development, including significant leaks causing large areas of mould growth, and in at least two cases, sewage coming into properties, including kitchens.

Electrics & Heating.
It appears that poor quality items have been fitted, requiring regular replacement of LED lights and controls, as well as having to replace many of the power sockets due to the USB connectors not working. The electric underfloor heating in all bathrooms has never worked correctly, despite them being a premium option that people had to pay extra for. The central heating system was also incorrectly installed in some properties, causing poor performance of failure.
Again, due to delays and lack of response from Rectory, independent tradespeople have had to be paid to investigate and resolve the issues.

Windows.
Within a few months, window mechanisms began to show signs of rust. An independent specialist advised that the windows appeared to be budget units, with fittings that were non-stainless, and that other than regularly cleaning off the rust, the only long-term resolution would likely require replacement of the windows.

Build Quality.
While the homes present well at first glance, the underlying build quality and materials do not, in our view, reflect a “premium” standard.
For example, all internal walls are lightweight stud walls, not solid blockwork. They are a simple frame with plasterboard in either side, which results in very poor sound insulation indeed. Normal day-to-day activities, including conversations and television, can be clearly heard between rooms, even with doors closed. This has a noticeable impact on privacy and everyday living. For example, us watching TV downstairs often wakes our children, and when we have friends over for dinner, we have to keep music and voices down.

Customer Service.
Rectory’s customer service has been particularly disappointing. Communication is slow or non-existent, and issues are often delayed or disputed. As a result, some residents are now considering legal action due to the length of time these problems have remained unresolved.
After two years, Rectory's policy is then to transfer the 10-year guarantee to a third-party warranty provider, named as Premier Guarantee. This company has appauling reviews from customers, some of the worst we have seen. Currently Premiere Guarantee have 94% of reviews at the lowest one star rating (withmany reviewers stating they wished to give a zero rating), so we are all very worried indeed about Rectory transferring our homes' 10 year warranty to them. Look Premiere Guarantee up on Trustpilot, and you will see what we mean...

Conclusion.
We understand that new-build homes can have initial snagging issues. However, the scale, number and persistence of the problems we have all experienced, combined with the lack of timely and effective support from Rectory Homes, has been extremely frustrating.

Based on our experience, we would probably not purchase another new-build property, and certainly not from this builder, and would strongly recommend that prospective buyers of Rectory Homes commission a comprehensive independent survey, particularly covering plumbing, sewage, and electrics, before committing to purchase.

Whilst Rectory used to have a good reputation as a premium developer, it appears that since ownership passed from Father to Son, the pride in building quality homes has been replaced by corner cutting, cheap build methods, poor quality materials, and the employment of rather questionable contractors.

Poor customer services post sale . Unable to contact and then they will not adress any issues
Build quality is very average but high priced

Rectory built nicely designed homes in the Thame area with quality materials and a classic style. However, they became bean-counting hustlers and builds are now outsourced to cheap reckless contractors.

Properties delivered often have catastrophic quality issues. Clearly, the company has become completely dysfunctional and doesn't inspect, even superficially, any contractor work. Issues range from obvious things like improperly installed windows to catastrophic faults like leaky roofs, unsafe lifts or bursting pipes.

The worse part is that they take zero responsibility and spend all their effort bullying customers and/or policing legitimate reviews from e.g. Google Reviews. Issues plague all their developments and there are many unhappy buyers.

In my case, my brand new property was flooded during my first day there, and I am still waiting for the compensation they owe me as I had to live inside a home that did not satisfy the Fitness for Human Habitation Act.

Sad to say, but avoid like the plague. I wish they would go back to their previous ethos, as I think small quality builders are rare, but I think this ship has sailed.

This company are a disgrace. Customer care just ignore your calls and messages. The house had so many problems and getting them resolved is a nightmare. I would avoid buying a house from them.