UK Builders and Homeowners Support
Licensing for Construction Industry

Approximately 80% of builders and consumers would support the introduction of a mandatory licensing scheme for the UK construction industry.

This was revealed in a research report titled License to Build: A Pathway to Licensing UK Construction, recently published by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

The report provides a detailed proposal of how construction industry licensing could work, also highlighting a range of potential benefits.

Key findings

Significant results from the report include:

• 55% of people who have commissioned home refurbishment works have had a negative experience with construction professionals
• 77% of small-to-medium construction enterprises support the introduction of industry licensing
• 78% of consumers support a construction industry licensing scheme
• 90% of homeowners believe that poor-quality and rogue construction workers should be criminally accountable

Independent analysis of small refurbishment sites by HSE inspectors in 2016 revealed that 49% of sites fell below minimum health and safety requirements. Given the high number of consumers reporting negative experiences with unscrupulous builders and contractors, growing public support for licensing shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Sunsquare’s registration to CHAS demonstrates that our installation teams meet the recognised standards as a contractor. We are fully conscious of the latest health and safety requirements and show the greatest respect whilst working at your home or on a large residential or commercial development.

Why consider licensing UK construction?

Unlike many trades, becoming a builder or tradesperson in the UK requires no relevant qualifications. Many countries are ahead of the UK in establishing mandatory licensing, including Spain, Belgium, Italy and Norway.

Aside from this, the proposal to introduce mandatory licensing is largely justified by the common perception that UK building firms are unaccountable, subject to too few checks and balances.

What are the benefits of construction licensing?

• Enforce minimum standards of construction competence and consumer protection
• Enable barring of incompetent, low-standard and rogue traders from the industry
• Introduce a mechanism for incentivising product quality and professionalism
• Mandatory renewals can be used to promote continued professional development (CPD) and skills training
• Improve industry performance by providing clear assurance of quality to consumers

Sunsquare’s take on licensing the construction industry

At Sunsquare, we understand consumer frustration with a lack of transparency and accountability in the industry. That’s why we’ve worked to promote minimum standards of product quality for skylights and rooflights.

Sunsquare’s diligence and determination to provide the very best products on the market caught the attention of the British Standard Institute (BSI), who were eager to set the standards within the rooflight industry. As well as the creation of the BSI Rooflights Kitemark, this collaboration led to the development of our 30º Pyramid that can withstand massive wind loads.