Timeline: 1972 to 1978
In 1972, Parliament passed a statute explicitly designed to hold creators of dwellings civilly liable to the buyers: the Defective Premises Act 1972. Section 1(1) states:
"A person taking on work for or in connection with the provision of a dwelling... owes a duty to see that the work which he takes on is done in a workmanlike or, as the case may be, professional manner, with proper materials and so that as regards that work the dwelling will be fit for human habitation when completed."
This law placed a heavy statutory burden strictly on the builder. No matter what, the builder had to ensure the dwelling was habitable.
In the landmark case of Anns v Merton London Borough Council (1978), the House of Lords created a temporary exception. They ruled that if local councils negligently inspected a building or signed off on bad designs that caused an "imminent danger to health and safety," the council could be sued by the homeowners to pay for repairs.
For a brief window in the late 1970s, it looked like the state was finally acting as a backstop. If a council inspector missed a catastrophic foundation flaw, they shared the financial blame. However, this ruling ran entirely contrary to the political winds that were about to sweep across the UK.