Housing · England
Hiring tradespeople for home repairs
Your browser or device provides the reading voice.
A tradesperson does jobs such as repairs or decorating.
You can read this with someone you trust.
Describe the job
Write down what needs doing.
Photos can help explain the problem.
Check permissions before work starts.
Check the business
Ask for the business name, address and references.
Check claimed memberships with the organisation.
Good reviews do not guarantee good work.
Check the right skills
Gas work needs a properly qualified Gas Safe registered engineer.
Check they can do your particular job.
Ask about insurance.
Compare prices
Ask for written quotes.
Check what each price includes.
An estimate is an approximate price.
Agree the arrangements
Agree the work, dates, price and payments in writing.
Explain your access needs and important routines.
Ask for changes to be explained before agreeing.
Pay carefully
Agree payment stages.
Be cautious about paying everything before work begins.
Keep invoices and receipts.
Check cancellation rules
Some contracts give you 14 days to cancel.
Exceptions and charges can apply.
Ask which rules apply before agreeing.
You can take time
Do not agree because someone pressures you.
You can ask someone you trust for support.
Keep banking passwords and security codes private.
If something goes wrong
Keep records and explain the problem to the business.
Citizens Advice can explain your consumer rights.
Call 999 if you are threatened and in immediate danger.
What you can do next
Ask for clear information before you agree.
You can get help if work or payments go wrong.
Get consumer advice Web pageThis link opens another website.
It may use harder words.
More useful links
- TrustMark: information for homeowners Web page
Find registered businesses and prepare questions about quotes, references, contracts and payments.
- HSE: check a gas engineer Web page
Use Gas Safe Register checks to confirm an engineer’s identity and qualifications.
- GOV.UK: competent person schemes Web page
Check relevant building-work registrations, approval and certification routes.
- GOV.UK: choosing a trader recommendation site Web page
Questions about identity checks, qualifications, reviews and complaints procedures.
- Citizens Advice: cancelling building work Web page
Check which cancellation rules and possible costs apply to your arrangements.
- GOV.UK: consumer advice Web page
Official route to Citizens Advice consumer support in England.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Hiring tradespeople for home repairs
Choose a tradesperson, compare written quotes and agree accessible arrangements, payments and protections for work at home.
Adults · England · General information
Decide what work you need
Write down the problem and what you want done. Photographs can help explain it. If you rent, check your landlord’s responsibilities and permission before commissioning work. Some jobs need planning permission, building regulations approval or certificates. Ask the relevant council service if unsure. Explain access needs, important routines and anything that must remain usable, such as your toilet or wheelchair route. For major work, ask who will coordinate the different trades.
Find and check the business
Ask people you trust for recommendations and check recent references for similar jobs. Get the business’s name, address and contact details. Look up any claimed scheme membership through the scheme itself. TrustMark and local Trading Standards schemes can help you find businesses, but membership or positive reviews do not guarantee every job. Check what a recommendation website actually verifies. Avoid hiring from an unexpected doorstep offer or pressure to decide immediately; arrange your own independent checks.
Check the right skills and insurance
Registration must match the work. For gas work in a home, use a Gas Safe registered engineer qualified for that particular gas appliance or task. Check the engineer’s identity and current work categories, not just a logo. For electrical and other regulated building work, check the relevant qualifications, approval route and certificates required. Gas Safe registration does not qualify someone for every trade. Ask to see relevant insurance details, including cover for injury or property damage, and check the work and dates are covered.
Compare clear written quotes
Where possible, obtain several quotes for the same description of work. Ask whether preparing a quote costs anything before booking. A quotation sets an agreed price for stated work; an estimate is an approximate cost. Ask for labour, materials, tax where applicable, disposal, call-out charges and exclusions to be clear. Check what could change the price. A very low figure may leave out important work. Ask for any extra work and its cost to be agreed before it begins.
Agree how work will happen
Get a written agreement covering the job, materials, start and finish arrangements, delays, payments, clearing up and complaints. Saying yes verbally can also create a contract, so take time before agreeing. Ask for plain language, information in your preferred format and a supporter if you want one. Agree who can enter, how keys are handled, which rooms can be used and how changes will be explained. Keep personal documents and banking details private.
Plan payments and keep control
Agree payment stages in writing and check completed work before paying the relevant stage. Be cautious about paying the whole price before work starts. A reasonable materials deposit may be requested; ask what it covers and what happens if the work does not proceed. Get invoices and receipts. Cash is not automatically evidence of a scam, but you still need a clear payment record. Independently check an unexpected request to change bank details. Do not share banking passwords or security codes.
Check cancellation rights before agreeing
Cancellation rights depend on how the contract was made. Many service contracts agreed at home or through an organised online or phone sales service allow cancellation for 14 days, starting the day after agreement. Exceptions apply; a quote accepted later or a contract including goods may have different rules. Requested early work can create charges, and completed services can lose cancellation rights where the required consent was given. Urgent repairs you specifically requested are normally exempt; additional work is not automatically exempt. Ask for written cancellation information and advice about your particular contract.
Check completion and resolve problems
Keep the quote, agreement, messages, receipts, photographs and any required certificates. A business must carry out services with reasonable care and skill. If work falls short, explain the problem in writing and ask for it to be put right. Depending on the circumstances, repeat work or a price reduction may be available. Contact the Citizens Advice consumer service for help with the remedy and any cancellation or complaint deadline. It can pass information to Trading Standards. Call 999 if you are threatened and in immediate danger.
Words you could use
“Please explain the work, checks, total price, payment stages and cancellation terms clearly. I need time to understand before I agree.”
More useful links
- TrustMark: information for homeowners Web page
Find registered businesses and prepare questions about quotes, references, contracts and payments.
- HSE: check a gas engineer Web page
Use Gas Safe Register checks to confirm an engineer’s identity and qualifications.
- GOV.UK: competent person schemes Web page
Check relevant building-work registrations, approval and certification routes.
- GOV.UK: choosing a trader recommendation site Web page
Questions about identity checks, qualifications, reviews and complaints procedures.
- Citizens Advice: cancelling building work Web page
Check which cancellation rules and possible costs apply to your arrangements.
- GOV.UK: consumer advice Web page
Official route to Citizens Advice consumer support in England.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
Where the information comes from
Links checked 9 November 2026.
These links open other websites.
They may use harder words.
- TrustMark: homeowner guidance Web page
Comparing quotes, taking references, written agreements and staged payments.
- TrustMark: homeowner questions Web page
Scheme monitoring, insurance checks and the limits of membership as a selection tool.
- GOV.UK: trader recommendation sites Web page
Verifying identity, experience, registration and reviews rather than relying on marketing claims.
- HSE: gas work and competence Web page
Domestic gas work must be done by a registered engineer qualified for the particular work.
- HSE: check a gas engineer Web page
Checking a visiting engineer’s identity and work qualifications through the official register.
- GOV.UK: competent person schemes Web page
Work-specific building regulations compliance, certificates and checks.
- GOV.UK: doorstep contract information Web page
Clear business details, pricing, deposits, performance and cancellation information.
- Business Companion: supplying services Web page
Binding service information, reasonable care and skill, repeat performance and price reductions.
- Business Companion: off-premises contracts Web page
Contract classification, later acceptance of quotations, cancellation periods, early performance and urgent-repair exceptions.
- Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, Part 3 Web page
Cancellation rights and exceptions, including urgent repairs and services supplied during cancellation periods.
- Oxfordshire Trading Standards: cold callers Web page
Independent checks, written quotes, resisting pressure and emergency help if threatened.
- Citizens Advice: consumer service Web page
Consumer advice and passing reports to Trading Standards; the service does not conduct legal action for clients.
- GOV.UK: repairs in a rented home Web page
Check landlord responsibilities and permission before arranging repairs yourself.
- NCSC: checking suspicious messages Web page
Check doubtful requests through independently obtained contact details.