The government has been running a formal review into the licensing and regulation of building contractors across the UK, including those working on people's homes. It follows years of concern about uneven standards in the trade, from unfinished extensions and leaking roofs to contractors who cut corners on building regulations and leave the legal liability with the owner. For anyone in Croydon planning an extension or renovation, it's a good reminder that not all builders are equal.
What the review is about
The review, which took responses until August 2026, looks at skills, competence and accountability across construction. The aim is to find out where the current system fails and what a licensing framework could look like. Most of the industry supports the idea. Builders who already work to a high standard have nothing to fear from a system that filters out the ones who don't.
Checking a builder in the meantime
Until anything changes, it's down to you to do your homework. Check the builder is properly insured, ask for references from recent local jobs, get two or three written quotes, and make sure structural or notifiable work goes through the proper building regulations process. A builder who pushes back on any of that is one to avoid.
The good news is that Croydon has plenty of experienced local builders who've built their reputation one job at a time, whose work you can go and look at and whose past customers you can speak to. Word of mouth still counts for a lot in this trade, and a firm that's worked the same area for years has a reputation worth protecting.
We've been building in Croydon since 2003. We're TrustMark registered, rated 4.8 on Google, and happy to put you in touch with past customers. Read our guide on how to choose the right builder, or get in touch for honest advice.