Home Improvement Disputes: Builders, Kitchens, Glazing, Green Energy and Removals
Trader disputes under CRA 2015, Building Regulations sign-off, TrustMark and RECC schemes, FENSA/CERTASS for glazing, and the Defective Premises Act framework. Section 75 for credit-funded purchases.
Home improvement is the consumer sector with the highest single-spend transactions outside property purchase, and the most fragmented redress landscape. Most trades operate outside any mandatory ombudsman scheme. The principal protections come from the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (service standards) and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 where the contract was made before October 2015. Voluntary trade associations (TrustMark, RECC, FENSA, HIES, GGF) operate consumer protection schemes that materially improve the consumer position, but only for member traders.
Key Legislation
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 (Part 1 Chapter 4 services; Chapter 2 goods supplied with services)
- Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3134)
- Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (residual for pre-October 2015 contracts)
- Building Act 1984 and Building Regulations 2010 (SI 2010/2214)
- Defective Premises Act 1972 (s.1)
- Building Safety Act 2022 (limitation extensions for relevant claims)
- TrustMark scheme
- Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC)
- FENSA / CERTASS Competent Person Schemes
Complaint Route
TrustMark / RECC / BAR / FENSA-CERTASS / Trading Standards / Small Claims Court
Always complain to the company directly first. Give them 8 weeks to respond. If unresolved, escalate to the relevant ombudsman or ADR scheme listed above. EvenStance guides you through every step.
The most common home improvement disputes
Builders and tradespeople. CRA 2015 s.49 requires services to be performed with reasonable care and skill; s.50 makes pre-contract information binding; s.52 requires services to be performed within a reasonable time. Remedies under s.55 to s.57 are repeat performance, price reduction, or refund. Where the work is notifiable under the Building Regulations 2010 (gas, electrical, certain windows, structural alterations), the work must be either signed off under a recognised Competent Person Scheme or notified to Building Control. Failure to obtain Building Regulation sign-off is evidence of the trader's failure to deliver a compliant service.
Kitchens and bathrooms. Typically higher-spend, design-led contracts. CRA 2015 s.50 (information binding) and s.49 (reasonable care and skill) are the operative rules. Design errors that lead to unworkable installations, supply-only kitchens with installation defects, and warranty disputes are common. TrustMark and KBSA (Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Specialists Association) provide voluntary dispute resolution.
Double glazing, windows, doors. Replacement windows are notifiable under the Building Regulations (Part L thermal performance). The installer must either be a FENSA or CERTASS Competent Person scheme member (which allows self-certification) or the work must be notified to Building Control. Common disputes: failure to provide the FENSA/CERTASS certificate, draught and seal failures, frame defects.
Solar PV, heat pumps and insulation. The Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC) is the primary voluntary protection. Members commit to standard contract terms, cooling-off periods, performance guarantees, and dispute resolution. Common disputes: under-performance against the predicted Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) calculation, install defects (typically roof penetrations and waterproofing on PV), warranty handling on inverters and heat pumps. The Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) is the technical certification framework; non-MCS-certified installs typically lose any government grants and may not be insurable.
Removals. CRA 2015 s.49 (reasonable care and skill) applies. The British Association of Removers (BAR) operates a voluntary code and dispute resolution scheme. Damage in transit is a contract claim; declared value and insurance terms shape the financial recovery. Limitation Act 1980 s.5 gives six years, though removals contracts often impose much shorter contractual time limits which are subject to fairness review under CRA 2015 s.62.
The first fob-off and the rebuttal that works
Home improvement traders' first responses cluster around three patterns. First, "the work is in accordance with industry standards". The rebuttal is the relevant statutory framework: CRA 2015 s.49 (reasonable care and skill), the British Standards or trade-specific codes where applicable, and the Building Regulations where the work is notifiable. Industry standards are evidence, not a defence; they must align with the statutory floor.
Second, "you signed off on completion". The rebuttal is that signing a satisfaction note is not a defence against latent defects. CRA 2015 rights against the trader run for six years (latent defects), regardless of what was signed at handover.
Third, "we are not responsible for the underlying issue; that was the previous contractor". The rebuttal is the same as in property: the trader holds the consumer-facing contract for the works it carried out. Where the trader's work failed to identify or address a pre-existing condition that any reasonable trader would have addressed, the failure is the trader's.
Escalation path
For TrustMark members: TrustMark's free dispute resolution scheme.
For RECC members: RECC-funded ADR (renewable energy specifically).
For BAR members: BAR Conciliation and Independent Arbitration scheme (removals).
For FENSA/CERTASS members: scheme-funded dispute resolution.
For non-member traders: Citizens Advice / Trading Standards (advisory only); small claims court for financial loss.
Where the works are notifiable under Building Regulations and the trader has failed to deliver a compliant install, the local authority Building Control can issue Section 36 enforcement notices requiring the work to be put right.
What it costs and how long it takes
TrustMark, RECC and similar scheme-funded ADR are free to consumers. Turnaround is typically four to twelve weeks. Small claims court is the residual route; fees range from £35 (claims up to £300) to £455 (£5,000 to £10,000).
The Defective Premises Act 1972 s.1 applies to dwelling construction work; the Building Safety Act 2022 extended the limitation period to 15 years prospectively (and 30 years retrospectively for certain claims) for relevant defect claims, materially extending the consumer's window beyond the standard six-year contract limitation in s.5 of the Limitation Act 1980.
How EvenStance helps with home improvement
Frank's home improvement flow drafts the formal complaint citing CRA 2015 s.49/s.50/s.52 and any applicable scheme code, identifies the right ADR route based on the trader's scheme membership, and prepares the submission. For notifiable work, the platform flags the Building Regulations compliance question and the local authority Building Control complaint route.