As a Registered Housebuilder under the voluntary scheme, houses were inspected during building, buyers were covered by a two-year warranty against major defects, and against the insolvency of the builder.

[1] The NHBRC's standards were upgraded in 1967, particularly in the provision of power outlets, kitchen design, and space heating; drawing on the recommendations of the Parker Morris Committee.

The NHBC states that its primary purposes are raising the construction standards of new homes in the United Kingdom (UK), and providing consumer protection for homebuyers through its 10-year Buildmark warranty.

In the Appeal Court case of Robinson v Jones (2011), the "reasonableness" of certain of its clauses was tested out and they were found to comply with the requirements of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

[3] It is the largest single Approved Inspector in England and Wales; inspecting around 50% of all new-build properties in the UK, and assists builders to achieve compliance, and advises on Building Regulations for schemes ranging from residential developments to large commercial and mixed use sites.

[citation needed] NHBC offers a range of additional services to help builders comply with Building Regulations, health and safety legislation, and other construction rules.

They also offer a wide range of training courses for building professionals, including construction related National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs).

NHBC compiles and distributes statistics and analysis about the UK housing market that are used by government and financial institutions, as well as homebuilders.

The NHBC was criticised on a 2010 edition of the BBC consumer television programme Watchdog, for failing to repair homes due to incorrect surveying of problem properties by relevant professionals, and thus failing to either compensate owners financially or fix any problems promptly, for newly built properties under their warranty.