The Approved Code Scheme is operated by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute

1 Sylvan Court Sylvan Way SS15 6TH Basildon, Essex, UK

Advantage Home Construction Insurance (AHCI)

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Advantage Home Construction Insurance (AHCI) provides structural defects insurance - operating nationally with offices in St Helens, Huddersfield, London, Birmingham, Belfast and Horsham - offering development-related insurances and a service designed to give customers peace of mind.

Policies are underwritten by industry-leading insurers with access to AA-rated insurers, giving customers reassurance when it comes to choosing the right insurance. Projects cover both commercial and residential properties and range from individual one-off houses to developments with a build cost over £50m. With more than 40 years of industry experience, AHCI are equipped to deal with the challenges faced on and off-site and are proactive in their approach to move projects forward with a fast turnaround.

VISIT : AHCI (ext. website)

 CERTIFIED 

Approved Code of Practice

This is to certify that the published Consumer Code of Practice of the Advantage Home Construction Insurance (AHCI) was officially granted APPROVED CODE status in 2016. Since then, the relevant provisions, processes and procedures have been continuously monitored and regularly audited by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) - the representative body of the UK Trading Standards profession, since 1881, and one of the primary Government-endorsed consumer protection bodies in the United Kingdom - operating on behalf of the Approved Code Scheme (see Code Audit Record, below).

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Approved Code Registry :

Code Sector New Home Construction and Warranties
Code of Practice Click here to view (pdf opens in new tab)
Year of Approval 2016
Members 793 (2023)
Last Audited January 2023
Code Audit Record AHCI Audit 2023 (pdf opens in new tab) 

More about Advantage Home Construction Insurance (AHCI)

VERIFY A COMPANY : If you want to check that a business displaying the Approved Code Scheme logo is genuinely a member of the scheme, please enter their details in the search box at the top of the page (or use the main search box on the Homepage).

The AHCI Code of Practice

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AHCI believe that home buyers should be treated fairly, are aware of what service levels to expect and how to access fast, low-cost dispute resolution arrangements (should they be dissatisfied), and that they should receive reliable information to help make their decisions. 

This belief has encouraged AHCI to ensure that any developers that wish to apply for and/or take out a structural defects warranty policy for a development with AHCI, comply with the Consumer Code (the Code). The Code came into effect in April 2010, and details a set of requirements and principals that Home Builders must meet in their marketing and selling of homes, and in their after-sales customer service.

Read the AHCI Code of Practice (pdf)

The Code reinforces best practices amongst Property Developers. This is to make sure that the level of information and customer service provided to their Home Buyers (consumers) is consistently high. It builds on successful efforts already made by the industry to improve consumer satisfaction. The buyer of a property should be fully aware of the Code, and what it entails so that they know the level of quality of service that is expected and can raise concerns when they believe it to be below expectations. 

The Code covers complaints within a ten-year period from practical completion. However, the first two years from the date on the certificate is the contractor liability period. This is stated in the AHCI’s policy and is the period that the Developer is liable for the rectification of any major structural defects that causes a claim against the policy. Therefore, this does not affect the Consumers right to complain during the ten-year period of cover.

Property developers. The property must have been built by a Property Developer that has registered with one of the Home Warranty Bodies of which do not meet any of the exemptions.

All applications are assessed by the AHCI team. The application process includes checks of the validity of the company with HMRC, a company report is requested from Credit Safe – if the company score is below 25 then company accounts are requested for examination and assessment of fluidity, AHCI records are checked for behaviour in relation to previous projects. The same checks are made each time the member applies for insurance for a new project. Prior to issue of final certificate(s) the developer is required to provide evidence of sufficient financial resources to meet claims for defects during the excess period. 

Since 2019, auditing of AHCI Consumer Code members is wholly online. Each time AHCI are notified that a build is complete and the Home Construction Insurance is agreed, the member is made aware of the requirement to complete the audit and the log-in details for the audit are sent out by email. If a member fails a remote audit, an on-site audit is required to confirm compliance with the Code.

If the Developer does not follow the obligations set within the AHCI Ltd Consumer Code, they will be investigated internally. Steps which they could take include additional training for the developer or they could look to exclude them from membership moving forward depending on the outcome. They will also look to share information of any excluded developers to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) and add their details to the AHCI website so that consumers can clearly see which Developers / members have not followed the obligations set within the AHCI Code.

Disputes and Complaints

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As a consumer, if you ever enter into a dispute with a business that is a member of the Advantage Home Construction Insurance (AHCI), the business must offer you Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This is a simpler, cheaper and faster alternative to going to Court. And the adjudications of the independent ADR body are binding on the business (although you are still free to go to Court afterwards).

Offering customers ADR is a mandatory and non-negotiable requirement for membership of the Approved Code Scheme - ensuring that only the best, most customer-centric businesses remain in the scheme. It also acts as a powerful incentive for any member business to treat you with respect, courtesy and fairness, at all times.

Advantage Home Construction Insurance (AHCI) became an approved ADR body in 2023.

AHCI are an approved ADR scheme, meaning that this process can be completed even quicker than when being referred to an Independent ADR scheme. AHCI will work with both the developer and the consumer to mediate and to help achieve a mutual agreement in resolving the complaint.

Full information and processes are available to view on the AHCI website.

AHCI's Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) : 

Complain about a AHCI Member business

If you feel you have been mistreated by a business that is a member of the Approved Code Scheme, there are steps you can take. In the first instance, please reach out to them - explaining the nature of your complaint in clear and unambiguous language, and mentioning that you are aware of their membership of the Advantage Home Construction Insurance and the Approved Code Scheme. In most cases, this approach will ensure your complaint receives proper attention - and, ideally, a resolution will be forthcoming. If you are not happy with the result, they must offer you Alternative Dispute Resolution, or you can request it.

Only if this approach fails to bear fruit should you contact AHCI, or their nominated ADR body (see their contact details, above) - who will then do their best to help you resolve your dispute with the business.

AHCI's Advice :

In the first instance, the Consumer (Home buyer) should ensure that they have followed their Developers formal complaint process. This should be done by writing to the developer either via email or post and stating that they are raising a formal complaint.

If they have not received a response within 30 days, the Consumer is welcome to write to us so that we can review the complaint and liaise with the Developer. We request that they provide us with any information which can help us review the dispute in full and we will ensure that the Consumer is actively kept informed of any steps which we need to take.

Complain about AHCI (Code Sponsor)

If a consumer is unhappy with AHCI Ltd.’s services, they can write to us to make a formal complaint via the following email address: complaints@ahci.co.uk.

Alternatively - and in the interests of complete transparency and fairhandedness - if you represent a business and would like to complain about the way that the Advantage Home Construction Insurance operates as part of the Approved Code Scheme, please contact us at : ccab@tsi.org.uk.

Organisation Information

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Corporate Details (from Companies House) :

Registered Name AHCI LIMITED
Company Reg. No. 09135644
Established 2014
Reg. Address 110 Mere Grange, Leaside, St. Helens, England, WA9 5GG 

PLEASE NOTE : We recently changed the consumer-facing name of the scheme from the Consumer Codes Approval Scheme (CCAS) to the Approved Code Scheme. However, some of our publicity and contractual materials (produced before June 2024) may still include references to the original name. Until we have adapted everything, both names remain valid - and we apologise for any confusion.

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