Things appeared to be going so well at Bovis Homes.

The New Ash Green developer – the ninth largest in the UK by turnover – had successfully calmed investors shortly after the EU referendum result.

A trading update showed sales were up by 5% to 1,601 in the first six months of 2016, with average sale prices up 15% to £255,000.

Many other housebuilders released similarly positive updates, shrugging off concerns that uncertainty might have stalled investment in the run up to the vote.

The announcement in July was not enough to bring its share price back up to levels before the decision to leave the EU – Bovis’ stock fell 37.5% in the two trading days after the Brexit vote – but it was a start.

It wowed its shareholders again in November with predictions of record revenues for the year.

Then, three days after Christmas, everything began to unravel.

On December 28, it surprised investors with a warning that it had “deferred” the completion of 180 homes until the early part of this year.

Shifting the sales to the new year would reduce pre-tax profits for 2016 to between £160m to £170m, it said, compared to analysts predictions of £183m.

Less than a fortnight later, its chief executive of eight years David Ritchie announced he was quitting after 18 years with the business.

Chairman Ian Tyler tried to dispel any concerns Mr Ritchie was leaving under a cloud, saying he was “instrumental in preparing the group for growth” which had seen it double in size during his tenure.

However, that was when the real trouble started.

It emerged it had offered to pay customers up to £3,000 to move into unfinished homes before its end-of-year cut off date on December 23.

Families at its Orchard Fields development in Maidstone revealed how they had been given less than 24 hours notice that their homes would not be ready in time. Many had booked moving vans and effectively been left homeless.

A group of unhappy customers on Facebook, dubbed the Bovis Homes Victims Group, has since swelled to more than 1,000 members.

Bovis apologised for the issues it caused to customers but insisted it only offered incentives on homes which were inhabitable.

A spokesman said: “We recognise that our customer service has to improve and the leadership of the organisation is absolutely committed to getting this right.”

On January 22, the Sunday Times reported Bovis’ second biggest shareholder, Schroder Investment Management, pushed for a merger with larger rival Berkeley in a letter to the housebuilder’s board. Berkeley apparently rejected the idea.

Aside from the damage caused by poor customer service, the Bovis tale reveals much about the industry, according to property moguls.

Mark Quinn, managing director of Canterbury housebuilder Quinn Estates, said it disproves the theory that major developers slowly build houses to keep prices high.

"That managing director will be under huge pressure to build houses as quickly as possible. This is shown by what happened at Bovis, who are paying people to take a house early..." - Mark Quinn, Quinn Estates

He said: “When a housebuilder buys a site, he needs to get a return on capital employed.

"That managing director will be under huge pressure to build houses as quickly as possible.

“This is shown by what happened at Bovis, who are paying people to take a house early.

“It’s a complete fallacy that developers are sitting on land.

“When you’ve spent that much money on a planning application you have got to get that site delivering money into your coffers as quickly as possible.”

Nick Fenton, chairman of Kent Developers Group, said bosses in the industry are faced with a number of issues.

He said: “There is a shortage of labour and materials, it takes too long to bring development sites forward and we need to ensure the infrastructure, utilities, services and jobs are there to support delivery.

"We also need to look at planning and really understand the complex housing needs of our communities.”

Before the recession, 50% of homes were being delivered by smaller housebuilders, a figure which has fallen to between 20% and 25%, according to Mr Fenton.

He said small developers need encouragement from local authorities, otherwise Britain’s housing crisis will not be solved.

He said: “The market remains strong for housebuilders but this good demand must be considered alongside the continued under supply of housing.

"In simple terms, we have four generations of families living in three generations of homes and this needs addressing.”

Kelly Terry and her husband, Scott, bought their Bovis home in Orchard Fields, Maidstone, off-plan in April.

They had been looking forward to moving in and starting a family.

Things began to go wrong in August when their garage was built with the wrong coloured bricks.

Mrs Terry complained of poor communication from the firm.

“We recognise that our customer service has to improve and the leadership of the organisation is absolutely committed to getting this right...” - Bovis Homes spokesman

Disaster struck the day before she and her husband were due to move.

The 28-year-old teacher said: “We were told we were moving in on Wednesday and took time off work and ordered a van as we were doing it ourselves.

“At 8.30pm on Tuesday evening we were told we couldn’t move in.

“We had to spend the night in a hotel and were effectively homeless.”

The couple moved in a few days later but discovered their three-bedroom house was filthy with snagging issues, no proper tiles and a leaking bathroom.

Mr Terry, a policeman, even touched a light fitting and it fell from the ceiling. Christmas food had to be thrown away as the fridge was not ready.

A spokesman from Bovis Homes said: “We apologise to them for any delays or inconvenience caused during this busy period and where there have been delays we have ensured that customers have free accommodation available during the period of disruption.”