Homeowners across Wales are putting off £542 million of building work every year because they cannot find a builder they trust, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has said ahead of tomorrow’s Budget.

This is according to research by the FMB and the HomeOwners Alliance, a consumer group representing homeowners, which found one in five homeowners have put off work in the last five years because they could not find a trusted or quality builder.

Most of that work is not just cosmetic - more than a quarter of homeowners having work done were upgrading electrics, plumbing or heating to keep their homes safe.

More than a quarter of Welsh homes were built before 1919, before building regulations began, to give attention to the fabric of properties, and the average Welsh home still only rates an EPC band D and are therefore expensive to heat.

FMB Cymru is calling on the Chancellor to use the Budget on Wednesday, October 28 to extend VAT relief beyond just the energy efficiency installations themselves to all home improvements that include energy-efficiency measures, which would cover many home upgrades. Domestic electricity has been VAT-free since October 1.

Ifan Glyn, FMB Cymru Director, said:"More than a quarter of homes in Wales were built before 1919. They are solid and worth keeping, but they are expensive to heat. Bringing our housing stock up to standard is skilled work that small building companies across Wales do every day.

“Electricity is now VAT-free, so it makes no sense that insulating our homes still carries a 20% charge. Extending VAT relief to energy-efficiency work in this week's Budget, with long-term incentives for homeowners would give Welsh building companies the confidence to invest in skills and take on apprentices. Right now, Wales is missing out on more than half a billion pounds’ worth of work every year.”