A class action lawsuit seeking up to £6,200 for each affected buyer has been filed against seven of Britain's largest housebuilders. The claim, totaling an estimated £4.5 billion, alleges that anti-competitive practices by these companies led to inflated prices for new-build homes.
The legal action was initiated on Tuesday by solicitors representing over 700,000 consumers who purchased new-build properties between October 2015 and June 2026. Mark McLaren, a former legal affairs manager at consumer group Which?, is leading the claim against Barratt, Redrow, Bellway, Berkeley Group, Bloor Homes, Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey, and the Vistry Group. McLaren is being represented by competition law firms Geradin Partners and Hausfeld.
Each claimant could be due between £3,100 and £6,200, according to the legal team. The lawsuit needs approval from the Competition Appeal Tribunal to proceed.
This legal challenge follows an investigation by the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into whether the housebuilders had exchanged commercially sensitive information. In October 2025, the CMA concluded its investigation after the housebuilders agreed to pay £100 million towards affordable housing. The CMA had found indications that the companies had shared details about sales, including pricing, viewing numbers, and buyer incentives.
However, the agreement with the CMA meant the firms did not have to formally admit to breaking competition law. The housebuilders also made binding commitments not to collude on information sharing. Many of the companies stated at the time that they welcomed the CMA's decision and that the payment was not an admission of wrongdoing.
McLaren stated that homebuyers should be assured of a transparent and competitive housing market to ensure fair pricing. He added that the claim aims to secure compensation for harm caused by the housebuilders' alleged anti-competitive conduct, seeking to address potential impacts of information sharing that may have occurred before 2022, going beyond the CMA's investigation period.
Scott Campbell, a partner at Hausfeld, highlighted the importance of class actions for consumers who might otherwise find individual legal action too costly and complex. "For most homeowners, bringing an individual claim simply isn't realistic, as the cost and complexity put it out of reach," Campbell said. "That's why this collective action is so important. It provides a practical route for hundreds of thousands of consumers to seek compensation where they may otherwise have had no way of doing so."
Class actions allow one or more individuals to sue on behalf of a larger group affected by the same issue. While growing in popularity, critics argue that such claims often result in large portions of damages being awarded to law firms and litigation funders rather than consumers.
Shares in Bellway, Persimmon, and Taylor Wimpey saw a decline of over 2 percent on Tuesday morning following the announcement of the legal claim.