New complaints jumped to 1,802 from 593 in the previous year.
There were 232 final decisions issued, up from 69 over the same time frame.
There was more than £214,000 awarded from decisions, up from £67,000.
The average compensation was £919 and the highest single award was £20,000.
Compensation is awarded when there has been a breach of the NHOS code that has resulted in financial loss or other harm that can’t be remedied.
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The report said there is a pattern that runs through the defect and snagging complaints, which is the developer’s slow or inadequate response.
More than eight out of 10 final decisions fully or partly upheld complaints.
At the same time, registered developers with the scheme increased from 532 to 581.
Any customer who reserves a property with a developer can bring an unresolved complaint to the NHOS if they are a member of the scheme, as long as their reservation took place after the developer joined.
The NHOS was begun in February 2023 and has now completed its third full year. Since the service started, complaints have increased, which reflects growing awareness of the scheme, said Nigel Cates, chief ombudsman, in the NHOS’ annual report released today.
He added: “I have been hugely impressed with many developers who have signed up to the scheme and the work that they have done to restructure their organisations to focus more on complaints and customer service.
“As market coverage increases, we expect to see a continuing rise in complaints referred to the service.”
