Consumers should always do their homework before taking any steps to develop their home. Making home improvements can greatly raise the value of your home but only if the work completed is done to a good standard and only if you do not overpay. Consumers should be equally cautious when building their own home. While it can be much cheaper to build your own home than to buy a new home from a developer, it can cost more if you do not employ the right builder to do the work.

In this section, you will find the information you need not only to ensure that the building work done to your house goes as smoothly as possible, but also information to tell you what to do if there are problems. Below you will find a summary of the topics covered in this section. If you would like more information, click on the links in the left-hand side of the page.

In theory anyone is entitled to do anything they want to their property and to build whatever they like. However, in order to keep developments in check you first need to obtain planning permission to do this. Planning permission is obtained by making an application to the local authority detailing the proposals. Use this section to find out more about planning permission and how to obtain planning permission before starting any household building work.

The Building Regulations apply to building work in England & Wales and set standards for the design and construction of buildings to ensure the safety and health for people in or about those buildings. They also include requirements to ensure that fuel and power is conserved and facilities are provided for people, including those with disabilities, to access and move around inside buildings. In this section you can also learn more about compliance and the consequences of not complying.

A restrictive covenant is a private agreement between land owners which may restrict the way land may be used and developed. They are enforceable by one landowner against another and effectively allow a form of private planning control.

Countless homeowners employ tradesmen such as builders and plumbers when engaging in improvements to their home or in other building projects each year. While many people do not encounter any trouble at all, those that do, are put into a tough position. Before employing these types of tradesmen, the consumer should do their research to avoid becoming the victim of unprofessional workmanship. By doing their research, consumers may be able to avoid conflict. Of course, if problems do occur, the consumer can seek the protection of the law, but this can be a very stressful situation. Best to avoid going that far by relying on personal recommendation or the approval of a trade organisation. Use this section to learn how to protect yourself from becoming a victim to unprofessional workmanship.

Before engaging in any household building work, consumers should read the information in this section. The first step is finding a suitable tradesman and there are many different ways to go about doing this. For example, you could ask friends and neighbours if they can recommend anyone. If possible, view the work that was done for them. Use this section to find out what you should take into consideration when doing household building work.

Once you have found a builder, you will have to get a quote for how much the work will cost. To do so, draw up a list of what work is to be done, to be used as a basis for traders to quote a price for the work. You can then request the quote by using one of our documents. If you accept the quote, you should also make sure to draw up a contract for the work. In this section, you will information on both of these matters as well as the documents you need to make a contract with your tradesman.

Taking these steps should help protect you from anything going wrong. However, things still can and do happen. If anything does not go according to plan, you need to know what your rights are and what to do to remedy the situation. For example, if there are delays in work, you need to know how to complain and what to do if things do not improve. In this section you will find out what steps you need to take if there are problems in your household building work and also access our documents to help you in this process.

Many people chose to do work themselves in order to cut down on the costs of bringing builders in to do it. As in the case of employing someone else to do the job, you really need to do your homework if you are doing any work yourself. Before engaging in any demolition of your property, you may need planning permission. If in the process of demolition you need to hire a builder's skip, you will need a permit to do so. Use this section to find out some of the things you should be aware of before beginning the work.

If you live in a council home and need repairs done to the home, you have a right to these repairs under the Right to Repair scheme. The Right to Repair is a scheme for council tenants. It aims to ensure that certain small urgent defects, which might affect your health, safety or security, are repaired quickly and easily. Find out what your rights to repairs are, and how to make use of this right.

These repairs must leave your council home in a good standard. All property owned and managed by the council must meet the Decent Homes standard. To meet the standard, property must have reasonably modern facilities, be warm and weatherproof. Find out more about this standard here.

Lastly, it may be the case that you yourself wish to carry out improvements to your council home. All council tenants have the right to improve their home but they will need to check with the council if they need permission for the particular improvement they want to make. Use this section to find out more about this permission.

Your home needs to be in a good state of repair, be sound and secure and not have any deficiencies that would endanger you or you family. Your council will have guidelines to help them check the suitability of any property used as a domestic home. Find out what standards are required by your council and also what financial assistance they may be able to provide in bringing your house up to these standards.