Households across the North of England have lost £3.6 billion to unqualified and unlicensed builders, new analysis from the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) reveals.
The FMB's analysis, broken down to every parliamentary constituency, puts the cost of rogue building work across the three northern regions at £3,588,488,828.
The worst-affected seat in the North is Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, where £37.9 million has been lost, followed by Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend (£33.6m) and Middlesbrough and Thornaby East (£31.6m). In the North West, Manchester Central tops the table at £31.5 million, with Salford at £31.4 million and Liverpool Riverside at £30.9 million. Leeds Central and Headingley leads Yorkshire on £25.9 million.
North East: 22% of adults have lost money to an unqualified or unlicensed builder and 49% have hired one, with an average loss of £1,552. Regional total: £757 million.
North West: 19% have lost money and 47% have hired a builder who turned out to be unqualified or unlicensed, with an average loss of £1,461. Regional total: £1.7 billion.
Yorkshire and the Humber: the heaviest hit per household in the North, with an average loss of £1,944. Regional total: £1.13 billion.
Northerners want action. 78% of North East adults say their confidence in builders would increase if mandatory licensing was introduced, alongside 66% in Yorkshire and the Humber and 65% in the North West.
Kev Wilson, Director of Kev Wilson Ltd in Lancashire, said:
“There isn't a builder in the North who hasn't been called out to fix somebody else's mess. You turn up, you find work that was never going to pass a building control inspection, and the homeowner is thousands of pounds down before you've lifted a tool.
“Licensing with proper minimum standards would change that overnight. That means the right insurance for the job, guarantees on the work, decent customer service and a proper complaints
procedure. Customers would know they're dealing with a genuine business, not a man with a van and a mobile number. It raises the bar for everyone. It changes what people expect from a builder, and it protects good builders too, because it's clear there are systems in place and we can't be taken advantage of either.”
Carolyn Frank, FMB North Director added:
“Cowboy builders are taking £3.6 billion out of Northern pockets. Every botched extension and every rogue trader who disappears with a deposit hits a family's savings and chips away at the reputation of the whole trade, whilst causing mayhem and distress for their unlucky customers.
“Homeowners in North England are telling us they'd trust builders more if licensing was brought in. In the North East that's 78% of adults, and almost everyone I meet has a story about rogue builders, are pleased to discover the FMB and surprised that the trade isn’t already licensed. The Government should listen to the evidence, and to the calls from the FMB, Homeowners Alliance and Citizens Advice, and bring in mandatory licensing without further delay or half measures that are not mandatory.”
