A new clampdown on cowboy builders has been announced by the government today, helping to close loopholes in rogue home construction
The prime minister has vowed to “put cowboy builders out of business”, with new protections forming part of his ‘everyday fixes’ to ease the cost of living, give families room to breathe and make Britain fairer.
From September, a new government-supported scheme will help people identify and hire trusted traders with confidence.
Businesses who sign up to the Approved Code will be able to demonstrate that they meet higher standards of customer service, transparency and dispute resolution.
More than 1 in 4 UK households deal with cowboy builders
Too many people are currently being ripped off. More than one in four UK adults who carried out home improvements work in the past 18 months experienced problems with cowboy builders – whether it be projects abandoned halfway through, undue pressure on elderly people to overpay for shoddy work or even builders disappearing on holiday with upfront payments and little to no work completed.
In 2024, people lost over £10.3bn on home and garden maintenance costs due to losses, overpriced costs or unfair practices. Delays and mounting costs can also cause severe stress, which destroys lives.
Tackling growing concerns over unregulated trades is the latest step in the prime minister’s series of practical everyday fixes designed to restore fairness and give families more room to breathe.
Protecting genuine tradespeople from being undercut
The new regulations will support the many builders across the UK who do the right thing for their customers and protect them from rogue operators.
Prime minister Andy Burnham said: “Cowboy builders don’t just rip people off. They leave families with months of stress, the disruption of unfinished work, and that horrible feeling of being taken advantage of. Not only that, but they give the vast majority of decent, hardworking tradespeople a bad name.
“So, we’re putting the cowboys out of business. These changes mean you’ll now have the option to keep your money safe and release it bit by bit as the work gets done.”
“It’s the latest in our series of everyday fixes to give people room to breathe and make Britain fairer. We’ve taken on subscription traps, fake discounts, and now we’re coming for the cowboy builders. Enough is enough.”
Ensuring traders can be trusted at every stage of the project
TrustATrader has welcomed the government announcement of a new crackdown on cowboy builders, saying it aligns with the mission the company has pursued since 2005, to make sure everyone can find a trader they can genuinely put their trust in.
Gary McEwen, TrustATrader’s founder and CEO, explained: “We built TrustATrader because too many people were being let down by bad tradespeople, and that is a problem that still has not gone away in the industry.
Our members are checked before they go live and monitored afterwards, because everything we do is about giving people traders they can trust.”
He concluded: “We welcome the government’s announcement. It is a step in the right direction, and we hope it encourages more people to look for the kind of reassurance our vetted, reviewed members have provided for more than 20 years.”
