57% of UK homeowners say they’ve had extensive work done on their properties and of these, 15% are unsure if they got the correct permissions when doing so, according to a new study released by Co-op Insurance.
Of the UK homeowners unsure if they got the correct consent for their building work which included extensions, conservatories, loft conversions and garages, 19% said they didn’t know they needed to and 14% said it didn’t cross their minds. In addition, 9% said they didn’t bother as they thought it would cost them money.
Co-op Insurance says its study reveals a growing trend of homeowners conducting building work without relevant authorisations. 43% are planning on future building work and of these, 18% would risk not getting relevant consent.
When looking into the reasons UK homeowners would opt out of getting the relevant permissions, 29% say it’s because they know they’ll get away with it, 25% would go ahead without permissions as doing so would slow the work down. Meanwhile, 27% said it would increase their costs overall and 19% don’t see the importance of getting permissions.
Women are more likely than men to get the relevant consent for their buildings work with just 7% of women opting out of getting consent verses 9% of men.
20% of UK homeowners said they opted against letting their insurers know about the work they were having done and a further 13% can’t say for sure either way.
Caroline Hunter, head of home insurance for Co-op Insurance, said: “It’s really important that homeowners get the correct permissions and let their insurers know when extensive building work such as conservatories, extensions and loft conversions are taking place.
“That way, if anything was to go wrong with the property, either whilst the building work is ongoing or once it’s completed, it will be covered by their insurer.”