Rising Costs and Risks of Botched DIY Repairs

The cost of botched DIY repairs is going through the roof, as landlords are caught in a spiral of ever-increasing material costs and a shortage of qualified building tradespeople.

More than 1,100 homeowners, including property investors, were asked by business insurance specialists Markel about the DIY jobs they did not feel confident fixing themselves.

The homeowners said they were confident taming overgrown gardens, painting, decorating, and other minor jobs, such as sealing a bath or freeing a blocked toilet.

However, most were less confident about tackling jobs that required specialist tools or knowledge.

These included fixing heating, replacing roof tiles, dealing with electrical problems, or plumbing issues.

Nightmare scenarios

The insurer cited calls from new homeowners reporting nightmare scenarios.

In one case, someone had removed the bottom of a chimney stack without supporting the rest of the stack with props or lintels, endangering the structural integrity of the property.

The study explained why many homeowners, including landlords, put off repairs.

Joint top of the list were the cost of repairs and the difficulty in finding a reliable tradesperson. Other worries included when a tradesperson could attend, uncertainty about the cost of a job, and concerns about overcharging.

DIYers who had botched a job were asked how much they were charged to put the repair right and how long they had to wait for a tradesperson to attend.

Homeowners in Plymouth wait the longest — 10 days on average for a response to a call-out, while those in Nottingham pay the most to put the botched job right — an average of £272.

The average for England and Wales is a six-day wait, with a £199 price tag.

Call out times and costs to fix botched DIY repairs

Source: Markel

Disappearing trades

While new apprentices are queuing up to become electricians, the study found many other domestic trades are failing to attract enough new workers. The slump in recruitment is impacting bricklayers, tilers, plumbers, carpenters, and plasterers.

The number of apprentice electricians has surged by 500 per cent, while apprentice starts for bricklayers are down 24 per cent.

Official figures suggest almost a million new construction and skilled trades workers are needed by 2032, while a third of the current workforce is contemplating retirement before then.

The report says: "The data suggests there needs to be an increase in new starters entering the industry, at all levels—from construction management through to key on-the-ground trades like bricklaying, plastering, and plumbing. If the number of tradespeople continues to decline, homeowners may find themselves in a tough position—forced to either develop their own DIY skills, or risk living with unresolved household issues."