Hiring somebody to transform your garden should be exciting. Unfortunately, when a substantial deposit, an unfinished patio and an uncontactable contractor are involved, that excitement can quickly turn into financial loss and months of stress.
On the 28th August 2026, the government announced new measures intended to protect households from rogue builders and other home-improvement traders. These include a government-supported Approved Code to help consumers identify trustworthy businesses and a new payment system under which money is linked to agreed stages of a project. You can read the announcement here.
Announcing the proposals, Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, who appears to be the new Sheriff in town, 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.”
Whilst this blog is not politically biased this did take my mind back to a statement made by US President Ronald Regan, aptly, forty years ago this month:
“The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.”
Although much of the UK Government’s announcement refers to “builders”, the measures are potentially important for garden owners too. Landscaping projects can involve many of the same risks as indoor renovations: sizeable advance payments, expensive materials, drainage and groundwork, several different trades and disagreements about whether work has been completed satisfactorily.
So, why is the government acting, what might the reforms achieve and where could they fall short?
Why Has the Government Taken Action?
The scale of the problem is considerable. According to the government, more than one in four UK adults who commissioned home-improvement work during the previous 18 months experienced difficulties. These included projects being abandoned, poor-quality work and customers being pressured into paying excessive sums.
More than a third of the people who encountered a problem incurred additional costs, losing an average of £750 over and above the expected total costs. The government also reports that consumers lost more than £10.3 billion in 2024 through problems associated with home and garden maintenance, including financial losses, overcharging and unfair practices.
The financial impact tells only part of the story. When a contractor disappears halfway through a garden project, the customer may be left with an unusable outdoor space, exposed excavations, damaged drainage or materials deteriorating on site. Finding another contractor to complete somebody else’s work can also be difficult and substantially more expensive. Throughout my career I have seen on multiple occasions homeowners struggling to find a new landscaper to come in and take over an unfinished project. I have also spoken with contractors who were reluctant to become involved in a ‘live’ dispute between a homeowner and previous contractor.
Existing consumer law does provide protection. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a trader must perform a service with reasonable care and skill. If work falls below that standard, the customer may be entitled to have it corrected or receive an appropriate price reduction.
The difficulty is often enforcing those rights. If a trader refuses to cooperate, has no meaningful assets or simply disappears, a homeowner may have to pursue a civil claim. Court action can be slow, stressful and costly, even where the customer appears to have a strong case. The House of Commons Library has also noted that some consumers are understandably reluctant to take legal action because of its cost and the possibility that a rogue trader will not have enough money to provide a refund.
Another weakness is that the home-improvement market remains fragmented. Competent landscapers, designers and builders may join professional organisations or quality schemes, but membership is not mandatory nor universal. Online reviews are useful, yet they do not necessarily establish technical competence, financial stability or the quality of a company’s complaints procedure.
The result is an information gap. An experienced professional and an unreliable operator can both produce an attractive website, display photographs and call themselves specialists. A homeowner commissioning this type of work only occasionally may find it extremely difficult to tell the difference.
Membership to an Approved Code will not replace the need for due diligence being performed on the homeowner’s part. The advice given in our articles 10 Essential Tips for Finding the Right Landscaping Contractor and Landscaping Contracts: Protecting Homeowners & Landscapers remains highly relevant.
What is the Government Proposing?
The announcement contains two principal measures relevant to home and garden projects.
First, a new government-supported Approved Code is being introduced for the home-improvement sector. Participating businesses will be expected to demonstrate higher standards of customer service, transparency and dispute resolution. The code is being developed through the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. Its first participating retailers are expected by the end of September 2026, with a fuller launch planned by December.
Second, homeowners will be offered access to Trusted Payments, an app-based project and payment service. Rather than handing a contractor a large sum that may immediately leave the customer’s control, payments can be associated with agreed project milestones.
For example, a landscaping contract might separate the work into site clearance, groundwork and drainage, installation of hard landscaping, planting and final completion. Linking payment to these stages should mean that the flow of money more closely follows progress on site.
The platform says payments are processed by Stripe, an FCA-authorised payment processor, and that it does not itself hold client money. It also offers project-management tools, access to independent dispute resolution and warranty protection, although homeowners should examine the current terms, exclusions and eligibility requirements before relying on any warranty.
The government’s announcement also introduces mandatory independent oversight for private bailiffs in England and Wales and promises a wider review of the consumer-protection system. That review will examine how organisations such as Citizens Advice and Trading Standards work with regulators, enforcement bodies and redress schemes. The aim is to make help easier to access and prevent consumers from being passed repeatedly between organisations.
The Likely Benefits For Homeowners
The most immediate benefit of milestone payments is reduced financial exposure. If money is released gradually as work progresses, a contractor cannot as easily take the full contract price and disappear before completing the job.
This is consistent with existing Citizens Advice guidance, which recommends paying in stages and defining clearly when each payment becomes due. It also advises consumers not to pay the whole price upfront.
Milestones can encourage better planning as well. Before work starts, the parties must think about what each stage actually includes. On a garden project, “hard landscaping complete” could be too vague. A clearer milestone might specify that the sub-base, paving, pointing, steps and drainage channel must all be installed according to the agreed drawings.
That clarity can expose differences in expectations before they become expensive disputes.
A recognised code may also make it easier to shortlist contractors. Accreditation can never guarantee that every project will be problem-free, but a business that has accepted rules covering transparency, service and independent redress presents a different risk from one answerable only to itself.
Reputable tradespeople should benefit too. Good landscapers already spend time preparing specifications, managing customer expectations and correcting minor defects. They can currently be undercut by operators who quote unrealistically low prices, omit necessary work and demand cash upfront. A trusted scheme could help responsible businesses demonstrate why their service costs more.
Independent dispute resolution is another potentially important improvement. Many disagreements are not straightforward fraud. They concern workmanship, variations, delays, unforeseen ground conditions or the meaning of a specification. An ombudsman process may offer a more practical route than court proceedings, particularly when both sides want the project completed.
Finally, greater confidence could benefit the wider garden-design industry. Some homeowners postpone ambitious projects because they fear losing money or selecting the wrong contractor. Better payment protection and clearer standards may make people more comfortable investing in professionally designed outdoor spaces.
The proof, they say, is in the pudding and it will be some time yet before we can fully see the impact these proposals will have.
What are the Possible Disadvantages?
The largest limitation is that the Approved Code appears to be voluntary. The government says that businesses which “sign up” will be able to show that they meet its standards. That is helpful for participating firms, but it is not the same as compulsory licensing of every builder or landscaper.
A rogue trader may simply remain outside the scheme. Homeowners will therefore still need to ask questions, check identities and reject high-pressure sales tactics. The reforms may create a safer route through the market without removing the unsafe part of the market altogether.
There is also a risk that people interpret approval as an absolute guarantee. Even well-run businesses can encounter delays, make mistakes or experience financial difficulties. Membership of a scheme should form part of a homeowner’s checks, not replace them.
Milestone payments can introduce disagreements of their own. A contractor may believe that a stage is complete while the customer believes that defects remain. Who will decide who is right and who is wrong? Vague descriptions are particularly dangerous. Contracts should define each milestone, its price, who decides that it has been achieved and how snagging items will be handled.
Cash flow is another consideration. Legitimate contractors often need funds for specially ordered paving, timber, plants or machinery. If payment arrangements prevent them from covering genuine upfront costs, prices may rise or smaller firms may decide not to participate. A workable system must protect customers without expecting tradespeople to finance entire projects themselves.
Digital access may also be an issue. An app-based system will not suit everybody, particularly customers who are uncomfortable managing a major purchase through a smartphone. There must be clear support for users who struggle with technology, as well as strong safeguards covering payments and personal information.
Finally, the scheme is new. Its real value will depend on how thoroughly businesses are checked, how quickly complaints are handled, the precise warranty terms, the cost of participation and whether meaningful action is taken against firms that break the rules. Government support is encouraging, but homeowners should distinguish that support from a blanket government guarantee of an individual contractor’s work.
Greater Clarify is Still Needed
As is to be expected, the announcement has been met with mixed feelings by the construction industry, and more specifically the landscaping industry where Stone & Flora’s interest and specialism lies.
Reading reactions by landscaping contractors in the online forums some very valid questions are being asked such as:
Who will sign off projects? If a dedicated project manager is required to sign stages off, will this incur additional costs for their services?
How quickly will things be administered? If feels like every week we hear stories in the press of delays within large institutions such as the civil service, the judiciary, the NHS and even local government. If the stage payments are delayed in reaching genuine, reputable contractors will work on site ground to a halt or do we risk smaller firms going bust?
Will this initiative be open to abuse by ‘rogue customers’?
Final Thoughts
The government’s proposals address two recurring weaknesses in home improvement: homeowners struggle to identify responsible traders, and too much money can be placed at risk before sufficient work has been completed.
An Approved Code, milestone-based payments and access to independent dispute resolution could make garden and renovation projects safer while helping good businesses stand apart from rogue operators. Consumer organisations including Which? and Citizens Advice have welcomed the direction of travel, while emphasising the need for wider reform and properly supported enforcement.
However, the announcement does not remove the need for careful contractor selection, a detailed design and specification, a written contract and sensible payment stages. Nor does a voluntary code amount to universal regulation of the building and landscaping trades.
For homeowners, the best approach will be to use the new protections when they become available while continuing to follow established good practice. Good regulation can reduce risk, but an informed client, a professional contractor and a clearly documented project remain the strongest foundations for a successful garden.
The proof, they say, is in the pudding and it will be some time yet before we can fully see the impact these proposals will have.
