Practical guidance before, during and after a home-improvement job.
Straightforward guidance for homeowners and tradespeople, with direct links to official UK sources for consumer rights, regulated work, building standards and safety.
A clear record prevents avoidable disputes
Written scope, agreed changes, sensible evidence and verified credentials make a project easier to manage and much easier to understand later if something goes wrong.
✓ Write down the scope, exclusions, price or pricing method, timing and who supplies materials.
✓ Record variations before extra work starts wherever practical.
✓ Keep photos, quotes, invoices, receipts and important messages attached to the job.
✓ Check regulated qualifications and registrations against the appropriate source.
✓ If a dispute develops, preserve the evidence and use the appropriate complaint, reporting or legal route.
For homeowners
Know what to check and where to get authoritative guidance.
Use BuildPair records for project clarity, then use the official services below when you need consumer, safety or registration guidance. Electrical Building Regulations differ across the UK, so the Part P examples below apply specifically to England.
Know your consumer rights
Paid services should be carried out with reasonable care and skill. If work goes wrong, the available remedies depend on the contract and circumstances, so start with current official consumer guidance.
Problems with building or home-improvement work
Citizens Advice recommends keeping contracts, receipts, photos and a dated record of what happened before raising a problem with the trader.
Check registered work where it matters
For work that relies on formal registration or self-certification, use the relevant official register rather than relying on a badge or profile claim alone.
Check gas engineers
Gas work should be checked against the Gas Safe Register. HSE explains how to confirm both the business and the individual engineer.
Electrical work: minor, notifiable and competent (England)
Some maintenance and alterations to existing circuits may not need formal Building Regulations approval, but safety standards and competence still apply. Consumer-unit replacement, new circuits and certain work around baths or showers can require notification or an authorised self-certification route.
Rental electrical checks: the five-year rule (England)
Landlords must have fixed electrical installations inspected and tested at least every five years by a properly qualified person and provide the required report to tenants. Check the current guidance for the property and tenancy involved.
Check electrical competence
The Registered Competent Person Electrical search allows householders to find or check registered electrical businesses for relevant domestic work.
For tradespeople
Protect your business with clear agreements and current guidance.
Good records protect both the customer and the trade. Use the resources below for current guidance on consumer obligations, certificates, health and safety and building standards.
Consumer-law basics for supplying services
Clear quotes, estimates, service standards and written changes reduce avoidable disputes. Business Companion explains the relevant consumer-law principles for service providers.
Contracts agreed away from business premises
Home visits, distance contracts and cancellation rights can have specific legal requirements. Use current guidance rather than relying on generic templates or assumptions.
Electrical certificates: use the right record
BS 7671 uses different records for different purposes, including Electrical Installation Certificates, Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificates and EICRs. The IET publishes current model forms. Certification does not replace Building Regulations notification where notification is required.
Small-builder health and safety
HSE guidance covers the CDM 2015 duties that apply to small builders, contractors, subcontractors and self-employed people carrying out construction work.
Current building standards
Use the rules for the UK nation where the work is taking place and check the edition and transitional provisions that apply. BuildPair keeps the official starting points together in one page.
Need to report something on BuildPair?
Homeowners can report tradespeople and tradespeople can report homeowners. Reports are reviewed through the BuildPair moderation process and are not treated as an automatic finding against either side.
BuildPair
Find the trade. Manage the job. Keep the record.
A UK marketplace and project platform connecting homeowners with local tradespeople. Search, quotes, messages, agreed changes, payment stages and project history stay connected.
Supported BuildPair payments are processed through Stripe. Users can also arrange payment privately, in which case BuildPair cannot process or manage that payment.
BuildPair provides marketplace, project-management and payment-workflow technology. It does not carry out building work, provide building-control approval, inspect or guarantee workmanship, or describe its payment service as escrow.