The building standards not-for-profit organisation, TrustMark, has called on the government to establish a system that will help homeowners to find reputable tradesmen for home extension projects.
TrustMark has made the call in advanced of a planned relaxing of the rules governing homes extensions, which is likely to see a surge in the number of people carrying out building work on their homes.
TrustMark’s chairman, Liz Male, said it will be imperative that, if people are going to be doing more building work, they know where they can seek out the best people for the jobs.
“There has been much talk of how this new housing plan could help fuel the economy, and there’s no doubt that anything that gets Britain building again is a very good move,” she said. “But our concern is that relaxing the planning laws on home extensions and other major building projects could end up fuelling the black economy.”
The organisation is doing its bit to promote reputable tradesmen and women who have gained its government-endorsed mark of quality, by launching a free smartphone app aimed at answering questions on building projects and giving advice on what people should look out for in someone they take on to do building work.