FEATURE HOME IMPROVEMENTS GONE WRONG
DODGY SPENDING GEN Z’S
Compared with their grandparents, Gen Z is
spending four times more on dodgy home renovations – underscoring the UK’s need for a mandatory construction licensing scheme
R ogue tradespeople, cowboy builders – whatever you call them – are not good for the industry. This magazine has written before about FMB members coming to the rescue of clients who had fallen victim to the unsafe and poor- quality work of unskilled, unqualified and unethical builders and tradespeople. Many members will know about the FMB’s ongoing efforts to bring about a mandatory licensing scheme for the UK’s construction industry – which would require tradespeople to meet certain standards and criteria to receive a licence to trade. Much like what is required to become an FMB member. New research from the FMB and
mandatory licensing scheme is, given that Gen Z spends four times more than their grandparents on low-quality renovation work. The study of 2,000 homeowners showed that across the country, homeowners were dissatisfied with, and distrusting, of tradespeople and had suffered significant financial repercussions due to dodgy work carried out at their homes. The research found that: ● 61% of Gen Z homeowners report having had issues with tradespeople at least once on their home renovations; ● just 41% of over-60s have had similar issues; ● first-time homeowners fork out an extra £20,000 to fix errors compared to £5,000 for over-60s across all the
properties they owned; ● plumbers are most error prone; ● Gen Z homeowners have been left with a heavier financial burden with an eye-watering £20,534 on average to fix botched jobs, compared with over-60s who have spent £5,128 over their lifetime as a homeowner; and ● the national average spend for a homeowner is £8,729 to repair disaster work, according to the research. More discerning Older homeowners appear more discerning or fortunate when hiring tradespeople, with 55 per cent of over-60s reporting they’ve never had problems. By contrast, only 26 per
TrustMark emphasises just how important this work towards a
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www.fmb.org.uk
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