A chronic lack of public confidence in domestic builders could be costing the industry billions of pounds each year, a government survey has revealed.
The report, carried out by research company YouGov for the HomeOwners Alliance and government-endorsed “find a tradesman” scheme TrustMark, found that more than half of homeowners (58%) said they had difficulty finding a trusted builder to assist with home repairs or improvements, and one in five said they found it very difficult.
Among those that had difficulty finding a trusted builder, the majority, 40%, said that as a result they did their own repairs or DIY work, 28% said they ended up using a tradesman they are uncertain about, 26% said they delayed the project and 12% said they did not do the work at all.
“There is a crisis of confidence among consumers who just don’t know where to go, and they are put off doing the work as a result. A large number of people don’t know where to go and are worried about being ripped off, so if the work is not urgent they will just wait for a personal recommendation or carry out DIY,” Liz Male, chairman of TrustMark told CM.
“The domestic renovation, maintenance and improvement sector is currently estimated to be worth about £27bn a year and if people felt more confident and the work went ahead, statistics suggest that potentially the market could be worth anything up to £40bn a year.”
The report found that about a quarter of female homeowners found it very difficult to find a tradesman they trust for home repairs or improvements, compared to 17% of male homeowners.
Regionally, most respondents found it difficult to find a trusted builder in London, 67%, followed closely by the east, 66%, and then the midlands, at 64%. That compared to the national average of 58%.
TrustMark claims consumer trust can be restored if people consult its own database of around 15,000 licensed tradesmen, covering 33 trades. The not-for-profit organisation, licensed by the government, operates a framework of 26 operators in the RMI sector, including trade associations, and local government trading standards teams and independent organisations, which are approved to carry the TrustMark logo and recruit reputable and trustworthy tradesmen.
“Unlike comparison websites that provide customer feedback and ratings on trades, TrustMark is the only find a tradesman scheme promoted to the public that actually goes out onto sites and carries out inspections, which gives us the ability to tell more about a tradesman and their competence,” said Male.
The onset of spring triggered a surge in public interest in building repair and maintenance work, according to TrustMark, which saw a 79% increase in the number of searches across all trades on its website during the past four months, compared to the same period in 2013.
Trades that saw the highest rise in searches included expert roofers, up 915% compared to 2013, flood recovery specialists, up 198%, fencers, up 128%, garden landscapers, up 94%, and trees surgeons, up 91%.
