Lorna Parsons helped answer this question, posted via the Help Me Investigate site…
"If the houses are old, he might be able to obtain details from his local twentieth century society but there is no guarantee that they will hold information about who actually built the houses. If the houses are of particular historical interest then they might hold the information he is looking for.
"The title documents of the property might shed some light on it as they contain historical data about past owners, but again, it won't lead him to details of the build specification. These can be obtained for a small charge at?
http://www.landregistry.gov.uk
"If it's more recent, he could try historical planning applications, through his local library I would guess, but again this will show the agent for the application and the owner of the land rather than the builder. However, might be useful if its a major developer (assuming that they still exist).?
"I guess that the building regulations department at the local authority might know specifics about a builder as they are the ones who have to sign off a building to say that it meets the statutory requirements. But that really is a guess – i've never tried that myself, nor do I know anyone who has."