Mr Mallas and his family moved into their new detached – and very smart-looking – double-fronted four-bedroom house in Reading nine years ago. The purchase price was £650,000, paid to Persimmon Homes. A few cracks here and there appeared, then more. The new house was not what it had been cracked up to be. Last month, a judge of the High Court ordered Persimmon to pay damages of £423,243 to Mr Mallas. A costs award for the six-day trial is to follow – which means a heap more money is yet to be argued about..

Let’s be realistic. Persimmon, I say, builds very good homes. So too Vistry, Crest Nicholson, Bellway, Barratt and more. But just occasionally when building, things go adrift. And then the Mr Mallases go through a bad time in getting a remedy. This was full-blown litigation, solicitors, barristers, experts and a High Court judge – the whole shebang – and masses of lawyer’s fees. Say what you like, Persimmon could do without all that expense. The answer is easy, and it is in the sole hands of the Rt Hon Steve Reed OBE MP – secretary of state for housing, communities and local government. 

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