A turnkey house: one contract from the ground to the keys

The things most often missing from a turnkey price are the ones outside the walls and at the very end: service connections and the fees charged by the water company and network operator, drainage to the public sewer or a treatment plant, the driveway and paths, landscaping, boundary fences, floor finishes, decoration, light fittings and white goods. Professional fees for design, planning, Building Control and warranty may or may not be included.

Ask for a list of inclusions and a list of exclusions, both in writing and attached to the contract. If a builder will not write down what is excluded, assume the gaps will be charged as extras.

A fixed price is only fixed for the scope described. Where you have not chosen a kitchen, bathroom or flooring, the contract carries an allowance, sometimes called a prime cost sum. If your choice costs more, you pay the difference. Low allowances make a quote look competitive and turn into extras later, so compare them line by line.

Every change you ask for once work has begun should be priced and agreed in writing before it is carried out, including its effect on the completion date. Keep your own running list of agreed variations.

The contract should give a start date, a completion date and a mechanism for extending it for reasons outside the builder's control, such as exceptional weather or changes you requested. Some contracts include a fixed daily or weekly sum the builder pays if it finishes late without a valid reason; it gives the completion date real weight.

Practical completion is the moment the house is finished apart from minor defects and can be occupied. A snagging list is agreed then, and a defects period follows during which the builder returns to put things right. A small retention held back until the end of that period gives the builder a reason to come back.

From 1 October 2026, applications for building control approval for new homes in England can attract the Building Safety Levy. Government guidance states that developments of fewer than 10 new dwellings are exempt, so a single house is normally outside it unless it is part of a larger permission. Community Infrastructure Levy, where your council charges it, is a separate matter covered on our house building page.

Ask the builder which statutory and connection costs it has allowed for, and which it expects you to pay directly.

Source: gov.uk

A turnkey house is not complete without its paperwork. Lenders, insurers and future buyers will ask for it, and gathering it after the builder has left is hard.

• Building Control completion certificate
• structural warranty certificate or professional consultant's certificate
• electrical installation certificate and gas safety or commissioning records
• Energy Performance Certificate and airtightness test result
• heating, ventilation and appliance manuals and guarantees
• as-built drawings, drainage layout and the location of services

Your request is shown to builders who work in your area, without your name, phone number or email. The first builder to buy it is the only one; it pays Offrano, and we charge you nothing. We email you that builder's name, address and phone number before it gets your details, and you can withdraw consent at any time.

A whole house is a large contract and no builder is obliged to take the request; if none does within 21 days, it is withdrawn. You are free to decline the quote. Offrano verifies that the buyer is a registered business, not how it builds, so ask for houses you can visit and check the warranty provider's registration.