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Last edited 03 Sep 2026

New measures to clampdown on cowboy builders and rogue bailiffs

On 28 August 2026 the government announced a clampdown on cowboy builders and rogue bailiffs, helping to close loopholes that have let unscrupulous operators fleece households and intimidate people already struggling with debt.

From September 2026, a new government supported scheme will help people identify and hire trusted traders with confidence. Businesses who sign up to the Approved Code will be able to demonstrate that they meet higher standards of customer service, transparency and dispute resolution. There will also be a new system to protect people’s money during building projects with payments directly linked to key project milestones. This will back the many builders across the UK who do the right thing by their customers and prevent them being undercut by rogue operators.

More than one in four UK adults who carried out home improvements work in the past 18 months experienced problems – whether it be projects abandoned halfway through, undue pressure on elderly people to overpay for shoddy work or even builders disappearing on holiday with upfront payments with little to no work completed.

More than 1 in 3 of these faced extra costs, losing an average of £750 of their hard-earned cash. In 2024, people lost over £10.3 billion on home and garden maintenance costs due to losses, overpriced costs or unfair practices. Delays and mounting costs can also cause severe stress which destroys lives.

Tackling growing concerns over unregulated trades is the latest step in the Prime Minister’s series of practical everyday fixes designed to restore fairness and give families more room to breathe.

Prime Minister, Andy Burnham said: "Cowboy builders don’t just rip people off. They leave families with months of stress, the disruption of unfinished work, and that horrible feeling of being taken advantage of. Not only that, but they give the vast majority of decent, hardworking tradespeople a bad name. So we’re putting the cowboys out of business. These changes mean you’ll now have the option to make sure your money is held safely and released bit by bit as the work gets done. It’s the latest in our series of everyday fixes to give people room to breathe and make Britain fairer. We’ve taken on subscription traps, fake discounts, and now we’re coming for the cowboy builders. Enough is enough.”

Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds said: "Your home is the biggest investment you make. While improving it can be stressful; we are helping families to avoid it turning into a nightmare. We’re taking action to protect consumers, support reputable traders and make sure people can spend their money with greater confidence and security.”

The government also announced tougher regulation to better protect people facing debt in England and Wales through increased oversight of the enforcement industry. Private bailiffs will be held to consistent professional standards and those facing enforcement action will have access to an independent complaints process.

Currently, families are at times pressured into repayments that leave them unable to afford essentials of day-to-day life as they continue to repay what they owe.

Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman said: "Bailiffs have an important job to do, but with that responsibility must come high standards. When someone is already struggling with debt, the last thing they should face is intimidating behaviour, unfair treatment or being pushed into excessive repayment arrangements they cannot afford. That’s why we’re strengthening the rules. All private bailiffs will have to meet proper, professional standards and will be subject to independent oversight - giving people greater protection and somewhere to turn when things go wrong.”

Independent oversight will be made mandatory for private bailiffs in England and Wales, requiring them to be accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board themselves, or to work for an enforcement firm that is, in order to obtain or renew the certificate they need to work.

To back up this action, Ministers also confirmed longer term plans to overhaul the wider consumer protection landscape. This will examine how organisations like Citizens Advice and Trading Standards work with regulators, enforcement bodies and redress schemes to make the system faster, easier to access, and better at spotting and tackling harm early.

Notes

The Trusted Payment and Approved Codes Scheme have been developed by the Trusted Payments and the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman (FHIO) respectively. Find out more here: https://trustedpayments.uk/
The Trusted Payments app will go live in September 2026, with over 100,000 traders able to access before the end of September. The Approved Code will be live with the first retailers by end of September and fully live by December 2026.
CTSI and the Approved Code Scheme are working with the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman (FHIO) to develop an Approved Code in the home improvement sector, which FHIO plan to launch during the Autumn.