Almost Half Put Off Home Renovations For Lack Of Reliable Builders

As we provide carpet trims throughout the UK, arguably one of the finishing touches to a big space renovation, we often hear of the difficulties that come along with such a process. However, a new YouGov survey has found that as many as eight in 10 homeowners have faced problems in planning their home renovations, reports Reveal Homes.

The biggest problem came in the form of struggling to find contractors to do the work, with 42 per cent saying that this had been an issue – and though the survey was just of 2,000 respondents, this extrapolates to potentially affect as many as 7.2 millions homeowners in the UK.

The research, conducted on behalf of the Homeowners’ Alliance and Rest Architects, suggests that a lack of skilled construction workers is really holding UK homes back and that this could potentially get worse in the current climate.

Alex Depledge, CEO of Resi, described the construction industry as unregulated and lacking transparency, suggesting that no distinct career path and a lack of accreditation in the industry is both putting off new recruits into the field and also meaning that it’s hard to determine the quality of workmanship. “The overall quality is so varied, depending on who you are lucky – or unlucky enough – to get. There needs to be urgent reform to regulate the industry so that people know what they are getting,” he said.

Elsewhere, planning permission was also a problem high on the list, putting off over a quarter of homeowners, as well as having to pay VAT costs, at 23 per cent. 31 per cent admitted to paying builders cash in hand to avoid paying VAT on a job.