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Home improvement facts and resources

Figures worth quoting, each with its source, and trusted places to find help.

The big picture

Our homes, in numbers

Four figures to start with. Every number on this page links to where it came from.

Trust and safety

When jobs go wrong

Most home improvement goes well. These figures show where it often does not, and why a little checking first pays off.

  • 36,534complaints to Citizens Advice about home maintenance and improvement work in the year to June 2025. That is more than 700 a week.Source: Citizens Advice, August 2025
  • 1 in 4homeowners had a problem with a trader or a job in the past 18 months. Those who paid to put it right typically lost £750.Source: Citizens Advice, July 2026
  • 26%of people who look after home repairs put a job off because they could not find a trader they trusted.Source: Citizens Advice, July 2026
  • 27%of people have swapped a socket or switch themselves, and 30% have not had their home electrics checked in over ten years.Source: Institution of Engineering and Technology, April 2026
  • 86%of homeowners say they would not call a professional after a DIY job went wrong. A trade body survey, so read it as one view.Source: Federation of Master Builders, June 2026
  • 23,795accidental house fires attended by fire services in England in the year to March 2026. Misuse of equipment or appliances played a part in 27%.Source: Home Office, August 2026

Money and value

Where the spending goes

  • £6.7bnsales for B&Q and Screwfix together in the UK and Ireland in the year to January 2026. The wider market was flat. This is a company figure.Source: Kingfisher plc results, March 2026
  • Up to 24%added to the value of a typical three-bed house by a loft conversion or extension with a large double bedroom and a bathroom. A mortgage lender estimate, so a guide only.Source: Nationwide House Price Index report, October 2025
  • 36%of English households own their home outright, more than the 29% who own with a mortgage.Source: English Housing Survey 2024 to 2025

Checked on 21 October 2026. Figures cover England, Great Britain or the UK, as each source states. If you spot one that has been updated, tell us. Journalists are welcome to use these figures with the source credited. See the media page.

Resources

Where to get help and check someone out

Independent places to find a registered professional, check your rights or plan a job. We have no commercial link with any of them, and listing them is not an endorsement.

  • Gas Safe Register

    Find a registered gas engineer and check their ID card. Gas work is always for a registered engineer.

    gassaferegister.co.uk

  • TrustMark

    The government-endorsed scheme for quality work in and around the home.

    trustmark.org.uk

  • NICEIC

    Find a registered electrician and read advice on electrical safety.

    niceic.com

  • Federation of Master Builders

    Find a builder and read advice on hiring one and agreeing a contract.

    fmb.org.uk

  • Citizens Advice

    Free advice on your rights if a trader or a job goes wrong.

    citizensadvice.org.uk

  • Planning Portal

    Check whether your job needs planning permission or building regulations approval.

    planningportal.co.uk

  • Health and Safety Executive

    Guidance on asbestos. Check before you drill, sand or remove anything in a home built before 2000.

    hse.gov.uk/asbestos

  • Energy Saving Trust

    Independent advice on making your home warmer and cheaper to run.

    energysavingtrust.org.uk

  • Royal Horticultural Society

    Garden advice for every season, from lawns to pots to wildlife.

    rhs.org.uk

Next step

Ready to do something about it?

Take the census to find your home improver type, then pick one job and make one change this April.

Take the DIY census Make one change